Kristen Stewart Was Clueless About the ‘Twilight’ Books; ‘I Thought I Was Auditioning for a Normal Movie’

Though Kristen Stewart has filled her resume with plenty of other movies since playing Bella Swan, her fans will always remember her for the Twilight movies. Stewart was the very first actor cast in The Twilight Saga films which included Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn – Part 1, and Breaking Dawn – Part 2. The five movies would go on to become a global phenomenon and make Stewart a household name. But what initially drew her to the iconic role?

Though the Twilight movies provided Stewart with an immense amount of fame and fortune, those two things actually weren’t what attracted her to portraying Bella Swan. In fact, she had no idea just how popular the films would become when she initially auditioned for the role. In an interview with Collider, Stewart even admitted that she had no idea the books that the Twilight movies are based on were popular because she had never heard of them.

Kristen Stewart has no idea that the ‘Twilight’ books were so popular

“The books were a big deal in the young adult novel realm, but it wasn’t in popular culture yet,” Stewart shared, revealing that the books had yet to reach mainstream popularity when she first auditioned for the Twilight movies. “I hadn’t heard of the book at that point and thought I was auditioning for a normal movie.” Stewart continued on to explain that securing the role of Bella Swan wasn’t some huge opportunity, it was just another role that she felt connected to.

“It didn’t stand out as this gaping opportunity, it was just something that I liked,” Stewart shared about her decision to audition for Twilight. “That was a cool audition process too. Catherine [Hardwicke, who directed the first Twilight movie] and I worked together for ages auditioning a bunch of other people for all the other parts. It was very normal—until it wasn’t.”

The actor was able to really own her character, Bella Swan, in the ‘Twilight’ moviesEven though Stewart didn’t learn about the Twilight books until after she auditioned, when she finally got around to reading the books, she enjoyed the additional insight into Bella’s psyche. But, because she didn’t read the books until after she auditioned, she felt as if she was able to make the role her own. “When you read that book you are her,” the Charlie’s Angel actor shared. “It’s such an immersive experience. So more so than with other parts the way to get close to it and make it feel true was to really own it and make it my own rather than be faithful to a text.”

So what was Stewart’s favorite part about bringing Bella Swan to life for the Twilight movies? Apparently, she loved playing a teenager on the precipice of life-changing moments and decisions. “I was a teenager, it was such a visceral time to be alive and any 17-year-old knows what I’m talking about,” Stewart stated. “It was just about capturing something so immediate, that first awakening, that ownership of your body and desire, all of it. It’s like having people tell you that it’s wrong and what you shouldn’t do. It’s a fierce commitment to something you believe in and was such a cool story to tell at that age.”