Could you imagine a world where Kristen Stewart didn’t play Bella in Twilight? Well, that was a real life possibility as writer Stephanie Meyers just revealed who her first choice was to play the vampire-loving human — and spoiler, it wasn’t Kristen!
Keep reading to find out which four actresses were in the running for the role.
Which Actress Did Stephanie Meyer Want to Play as Bella?
In a blog post, Stephanie shared that she pictured Emily Browning as Bella! While speaking to MTV in 2009, Emily explained why she turned down the role.
“Maybe I should set it straight a little bit, because there are so many rumors flying around,” Emily told the TV channel. “People are coming up to me and saying, ‘Oh, my God. You turned [Twilight] down?’ and all this horrible stuff!”
She continued, “What actually happened is that I was asked to audition – not take the part, but to just audition – shortly after The Uninvited had finished filming. And I’m not the type of person who can just work back-to-back. So I was just exhausted, and I was like, ‘I’m sorry, but I just can’t sign on to a trilogy right now.’”
Which Other Actresses Auditioned to Play as Bella?
Emily wasn’t the only star to audition for the fantasy film. Lily Colins, who you might recognize from Emily in Paris, also took a chance at securing a spot in the series.
“This was many years ago. I was new on the scene, new at auditioning and it was always kind of this, ‘What’s going to happen?’” the actress shared to Crave in 2013.
The Mirror Mirror star continued, “I think every young actor or actress in Hollywood starts to read some of the same material but I think everything happens for a reason and everyone who gets the roles they get were meant to.”
Another name added to the list was Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence! When Jennifer first auditioned, she had no idea how big the franchise would turn out.
She explained to the Guardian in 2012, “I had no idea Twilight would be such a big deal. For me, and assuming for her, it was just another audition. Then it turned into this whole other thing.”
Looking back on her original audition, the Don’t Look Up actor noted that she was “immediately” turned down and wasn’t even given a callback!
Finishing off the list of talented actresses, Michelle Trachtenberg was also given a chance to play Bella. However, things didn’t work out due to “scheduling conflicts,” she told Us Weekly in 2011.
