Behind-the-Scenes Facts From The Twilight Saga, Including Robert Pattinson’s Surprising On-Set Injury

1. Several actors were considered for Edward

Pattinson wasn’t always the frontrunner to play Edward Cullen. Before his casting, Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke also considered Shiloh Fernandez, Ben Barnes and Rathbone, who ultimately played Jasper Cullen.

“I did have a screen test and signed contracts and all that,” Fernandez told Interview in 2010. “Did I want the part? I did. But I don’t think I was right or ready for it.”

As for Meyer’s first choice, she always imagined Henry Cavill as her Edward, per a blog post written by the author in 2007.

“I think I was [Meyer’s] first choice. That’s the rumor I heard. She wanted me to play [Edward], but it wasn’t up to her,” Cavill said on The Graham Norton Show in 2018.

2. A number of actresses were considered for Bella

Like Pattinson, Stewart wasn’t the only actress in the running to play Bella Swan. In 2007, Meyer’s frontrunner was Emily Browning.

Actress Lily Collins auditioned for Twilight, she told Mandatory in 2013. Michelle Trachtenberg and Jennifer Lawrence also tried out for the part.

“I didn’t really know what it was,” Lawrence said on a 2018 episode of The Howard Stern Show of her Twilight audition. “You just get like five pages [at the audition] and they’re like, ‘Act, monkey.’ And when it came out I was like, ‘Hot damn. Whoa!’ “

3. Tyler Posey was considered for the part of Jacob

Tyler Posey, meanwhile, was Meyer’s first choice for Jacob, and he was in the running up until the final decision was made.

“I was up against Taylor Lautner, it was between he and I for Jacob in Twilight,” Posey said on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2023. “It would’ve been huge, but I was really young. I was like 16. I wasn’t ready for that type of attention that he got.”

4. Taylor Lautner was almost recast in ‘New Moon’

After starring in Twilight, Lautner nearly didn’t come back for New Moon. Production originally planned to cast another actor to play Jacob in the remaining four films.

“My character in the first book is supposed to be a 16-year-old little scrawny boy, and in the middle of New Moon, he transforms into this 25-year-old looking built, muscular man,” Lautner explained on a 2023 episode of Call Her Daddy.

“They were going to cast a mid-20s guy to carry on and be Jacob for the rest of the franchise. I had to fight for my role back,” he continued.

5. Taylor Lautner consumed more than 3,200 calories a day for ‘New Moon’

After Twilight wrapped shooting, Lautner hit the gym and consumed over 3,200 calories a day to go from a lean teen to a hunky werewolf in New Moon.

“I knew I had to get to work right away. There could be no waiting involved. The day I finished Twilight, I came home and started bulking up,” he told Interview magazine in 2009. “For New Moon, I’m 30 pounds heavier than I was in Twilight.”

Lautner continued, “I was in the gym five days a week, two hours a day. The hardest thing for me was the eating. At one point, I had to shove as much food in my body as possible to pack on calories.”