It may be hard to believe, but there are people out there who don't, or at least didn't, think Robert Pattinson is good looking enough to play a vampire. And those people were none other than the producers of the Twilight movies.
Yep, it turns out the actor almost wasn't cast in the Twilight franchise, director Catherine Hardwicke has revealed.
The heartthrob appeared as Edward Cullen in all five films in the beloved film series, based on the novels by Stephanie Meyer. However, Pattinson almost didn't have the skin of a killer with producers pondering whether he was actually the right fit for the role.
Appearing on the Watchalong podcast to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the first Twilight film, Hardwicke explained how she had to fight for Pattinson to be cast.
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"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," she began.
"I thought, 'It works not just in person, but it works on screen.' I had to be sure. Of course, in person, I just got carried away, but you have to be sure — does it really translate [to the screen]? I sent it to Summit and he went over to meet them.
"They called me back and go, 'Do you think you can make this guy look good?' I said, 'Yeah, I do. Did you see his cheekbones? 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.'"
However, Hardwicke admitted they still weren't convinced.
"They didn’t believe it at first. He walked over there with a stained shirt… It was Rob," she recalled.
Of course, Pattison did go on to play Edward (after some convincing), which proved to be a breakout role for the actor. His portrayal went on to make him one of the biggest stars in Hollywood today, with him even playing the iconic role of Batman.
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Pattinson recently opened up about his work and his "deep, deep fear of humiliation" in a conversation with comedian Jordan Firstman for Interview magazine.
When asked if he had ever done a project he wasn't interested in, he explained: "Not really. I have a deep, deep fear of humiliation. And also, you sort of know it's down to you. You can say it's a shitty script or the director's a dick or blah, blah, blah, but at the end of the day, no one's going to care about the reasons.
"You're the one who everyone's going to say is lame. And the vast majority of people will say you're lame even when you tried your best."
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Freelance Reporter, Digital Spy
Rebecca is a freelance journalist who specialises in TV and film. After beginning her career as a digital entertainment journalist for the Express & Star and Shropshire Star, she embarked on a freelance career in 2021 contributing to the likes of Metro UK, The Sun, WhatCulture, Screen Rant, FilmHounds Magazine and more.
Her particular field of interest is horror cinema and she has written for genre publications such as Ghouls Magazine and Moving Pictures Film Club.
