Before the Twilight books were adapted for the big screen, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and the vast majority of the cast were relative unknowns, with just a handful of jobs between them under their belts.
It was the vampire saga which put them on the map and the rest, as they say, is history.
But it wasn’t always destined to be that way.
Author Stephenie Meyer had her own ideas about who should star in the films, spotted on her website by BuzzFeed, and multiple names were, as ever, considered for the various parts.
Here’s what Twilight could have looked like in an alternate life.
“Just look at those lips!” she wrote. “Love her!”
Lily Collins (Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Mirror Mirror) was also considered for the role of Bella.
“This (the audition) was many years ago,” she told CraveOnline. “I was new on the scene, new at auditioning and it was always kind of this, ‘What’s going to happen?’ everyone in the waiting room waiting for you. One of those anxious days as a young actor.”
But she decided against it in the end because she’d already appeared in Buffy.
“I’ve already done the vampire thing,” she added.
Jennifer Lawrence read for the part, too.
Chatting on The Howard Stern Show about her audition, Lawrence said: “I didn’t really know what it was. You just get like five pages and they’re like, ‘Act monkey.’ And when it came out I was like, ‘Hot damn. Whoa!'”
Ellen Page (Umbrella Academy, Juno) and Danielle Panabaker (The Flash, Shark) were also floated.
Henry Cavill – Edward Cullen
Photo credit: Karwai Tang – Getty Images
“The only actor I’ve ever seen who I think could come close to pulling off Edward Cullen,” wrote Meyer. High praise.
Cavill (The Witcher, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) was deemed too old to play the role in the end, but she thought he could be a good fit for Carlisle Cullen, the Cullen patriarch.
Dave Franco (The Disaster Artist, Now You See Me) took a shot at Edward.
“I don’t know how close I was,” he told MTV.
When asked if he thought he had a chance at the part, he said: “No. No, no, no. At this point, I still don’t know what I’m doing. At that point I was in over my head.”
Another name attached to the role was Dustin Milligan (Schitt’s Creek, 90210).
“I did my best Edward Cullen,” he told AccessHollywood.com.
He then went on to joke about losing out because he doesn’t have a British accent.
“So, I didn’t get the job,” he added.
Photo credit: Tibrina Hobson – Getty Images
Michael Welch, who ended up playing human Michael Newton, also auditioned.
Chatting to MTV, he said: “As much as I appreciate my representatives thinking that I could pull off hauntingly beautiful – the most gorgeous creature you will ever see on the planet – it’s not quite me… Then I auditioned for the role of Eric… I auditioned for pretty much every role before [being cast as] Mike.”
Other names who were reportedly considered were Shiloh Fernandez (Jericho, United States of Tara), Ben Barnes (The Punisher, Westworld), Jackson Rathbone, who was later cast as Jasper, and Jamie Campbell Bower, who ended up playing Caius in the New Moon.
Tyler Posey – Jacob Black
Photo credit: David Livingston – Getty Images
Taylor Lautner was chosen to play werewolf Jacob Black, and a fine job he did.
But Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf) was also in contention.
“I was very excited because I was a fan of [Kristen Stewart’s],” he told MTV .
“I saw Taylor Lautner at all of these auditions, and I knew he was auditioning for Twilight also. I remember I saw him at an audition a few months after, and I was like, ‘Hey man, what have you been up to?’ And he was like, ‘I was filming Twilight.’
“That’s when I found out I didn’t get the part.”
Awkward.
Michael Copon (Beyond the Break, Power Rangers Time Force) was also considered for the part.
Lucy Hale – Alice Cullen and Jane
Photo credit: Rodin Eckenroth – Getty Images
The part of Alice Cullen went to Ashley Greene, but Lucy Hale (Katy Keene, Pretty Little Liars) also threw her hat into the ring.
Chatting to PopEater, she said: “I auditioned for Twilight. It was for Ashley Greene’s part. She plays Alice. I didn’t even have any idea what Twilight was then.”
Hale also read for Jane, a vampire who was part of the Volturi guard, but that went to Dakota Fanning (The Alienist, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).
“I did read [for the role],” she told Twist magazine. “We had some talks about it. But I think they just offered it to Dakota Fanning, the role I was interested in, which is great – I’m a huge fan of her.”
Vanessa Hudgens – Leah Clearwater
Photo credit: Bruce Glikas – Getty Images
Julia Jones was cast as Leah Clearwater in Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, but Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical, The Princess Switch) was reportedly in the running to play the werewolf.
Channing Tatum – Riley Biers
Photo credit: Lester Cohen – Getty Images
Eclipse’s Riley Biers, who was played by Xavier Samuel, was part of the vampire army assembled by Victoria, the big bad who wanted to kill Bella.
Melissa Rosenberg, who wrote the screenplay for Twilight and New Moon, told E! Online that Channing Tatum (Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street) would be an ideal fit.
“There’s a very big battle at the end with Riley, and I think Channing would do that so well,” she said.
“There are some complexities to that character. He really is tragic. He’s a puppet for Victoria. So he has to break your heart a little bit at the end when he realises that she doesn’t want him. Channing could do that beautifully.”
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