The TWILIGHT director says the studio didn’t think Robert Pattinson was attractive enough to play Edward

Dusk director Catherine Hardwicke sat down with the “Happy Sad Confused” spinoff podcast “Watchalong” to reflect on her 2008 teen vampire romance film, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this month. The film follows Bella (Kristen Stewart), a newcomer to the small town of Forks, Washington, who falls in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson).

The film was a huge success among fans of the book series and went on to see a full film series covering the entire story. But some may be surprised to learn that the studio didn’t initially think Pattinson was attractive enough to play the role. Hardwicke explained:

“When he came to my house, he had black bangs instead of hair and was a bit out of shape because he was always at the pub,” Hardwicke recalled of auditioning for Pattinson. “After doing the fun auditions [with Kristen] at my house for a couple of hours, then the next morning I looked at all the footage I had shot and recorded and thought it worked not only live but also on screen. I had to be sure. Obviously I got carried away in person, but you have to make sure it translates [to the screen].”

He went on to add:

“Then I sent him to Summit and he went to meet them. They called me back and said, ‘Do you think you can make this guy look good?’ I said, “Yes, I do.” Have you seen his cheekbones? We’re doing a hair makeover and everything and he’ll start training and he’ll be beautiful.” But at first they didn’t believe it. He liked him walking there with his shirt stained or something. It was Rob.”

Pattinson was not what the studio envisioned for Edward, nor was he what fans expected. When the “Twilight” movie was announced, fan casting skewed heavily in favor of a pre-Superman Henry Cavill. Franchise author Stephenie Meyer has publicly stated that Cavill was at the top of her wish list. Hardwicke thought the actor looked too old to play a high school student by the time his film adaptation took off, but Cavill had no idea he was ever considered for the role until Pattinson had already been cast. Cavill said last year that it “would have been nice” to play Edward, although he has no hard feelings about not getting the job.

Hardwicke believed Pattinson was the perfect Edward based on his audition with Kristen Stewart. The two actors shot the scenes of the film at Hardwicke’s house and, as is known, they kissed for the first time while rehearsing a scene in the director’s bed.

“They shot the kissing scene and he fell and landed right there on the floor,” Hardwicke said on “The Big Hit Show” podcast last year. “He fell out of bed. I told him, “Dude, calm down.” And I’m there filming with my little video camera, whatever… Finally, Kristen said, ‘It has to be Rob.’ I could tell they had a lot of chemistry and I was like, “Oh my God.” I thought, Kristen was 17. I don’t want to get involved in illegal things. So I remember telling Rob, ‘By the way, Kristen is 17. In our country, it’s illegal to have sexual intercourse…’ And he said, ‘Oh, okay, whatever.'”

It’s ridiculous to think that there could have been a better Edward. Plus the chemistry between the two main characters would have been difficult to replicate. Pattinson did well in the cheesy role, and was still able to continue making all the artistic and dark films he had planned.