Robert Pattinson Almost Missed Out On Starring In Twilight

For Twilight fans, Robert Pattinson will always be known as vampire heartthrob Edward Cullen. However, he almost missed out on the career-launching role.

The film’s director, Catherine Hardwicke, recalled the Twilight casting process on the Nov. 20 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, revealing that the studio behind the 2008 vampire romance wasn’t convinced Pattinson had the right look.

“When he came over to my house, he had black bangs for hair and was kind of out of shape because he was hanging out at the pub all the time,” Hardwicke said of Pattinson’s first audition, which she recorded and sent over to Summit Entertainment.

Hardwicke later had to convince the production company that she could “make this guy look good” over the phone, telling them: “We’re doing a makeover on the hair and everything and he’s going to start working out and he’s going to be gorgeous.”

Based on the novel series by Stephenie Meyer, the Twilight movie saga went on to gross $3.3 billion at the global box office and made stars of its lead actors, Pattinson and Kristen Stewart (aka Bella Swan).

Rob Sealed It With A Kiss

Hardwicke also shared details of Pattinson’s first audition with Stewart during a 2022 appearance on The Big Hit Show podcast.

While rehearsing scenes at the director’s home, Pattinson kissed his future co-star for the first time and managed to convince both Hardwicke and Stewart that he was the man for the job.

“They did the kissing scene and he fell off and landed right there on the floor,” Hardwicke recalled. “He fell off the bed. I’m like, ‘Dude, calm down.’ And I’m in there filming with my little video camera, whatever … In the end, Kristen was like, ‘It has to be Rob.’”

He Wanted To Do Twilight Justice

On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Twilight director also recently explained why she felt a need to give Pattinson “a lot of love and encouragement” on the film’s set.

“Rob is a very modest person and [a] very humble person, and self-deprecating in a way,” she revealed. “He was nervous about, ‘Am I living up to the book? Am I gorgeous enough for the book?’ And I would say, ‘Let’s just do this scene, and if I have any problems, I’ll let you know.’”