6 of Robert Pattinson’s most famous rivals for the role in Twilight

Edward Cullen’s role in Twilight took Robert Pattinson’s career to the next level, but he may not have been cast in the role. Believe it or not, the actor was almost overlooked due to concerns that he wasn’t attractive enough to portray a sexy vampire.

At the time of casting for the film, Robert had proven himself as a future Hollywood star by playing Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter films. However, Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke revealed concerns about the actor’s appearance that almost cost him the role.

Jared decided to find out who else could star alongside Kristen Stewart in this mega-popular epic. Thousands of actors auditioned for this role, but the list of favorites was not very large.

DaveFranco

“I auditioned for Edward Cullen. I don’t know how close I am. I read for Catherine Hardwicke, but who knows,” Dave Franco told MTV in 2012. The actor later laughed and said he never got the chance to play the character, adding: “I still don’t know what I’m doing at this point. “I would be up to my neck in it at that point.”

Dustin Milligan

Dustin Milligan told Access Hollywood that he “did my best to be Edward Cullen” but didn’t get the role. He even joked about what stopped him from getting the job: “Unfortunately, I didn’t have a British accent. That’s why I didn’t get this job! He also praised Robert’s voice, saying: “Women love it. Melting!”

Ben Barnes

Ben Barnes was in the middle of filming The Chronicles of Narnia when he was considered a prime candidate for the role of Edward Cullen: “I was the first person they approached about it. Everything was fine. I read the first book very quickly. I really liked him. I think Kristen Stewart is amazing. I think he’s a really good player. And I really love Catherine Hardwicke. But there were two things: First, they didn’t want to mix Narnia with Twilight. When you’re playing the lead role in a series, I think it’s dangerous to mix up the characters in the series. So he definitely didn’t want Prince Caspian to be Edward Cullen, that doesn’t make sense. Secondly, even if I was 30, I’d still be playing a 17-year-old and no one wants to see that. That would be a little sad.”

Jackson Rathbone

Jackson Rathbone played Edward Cullen’s adopted brother, Jasper, but he was the last of the four men competing with Robert for the lead role. E News reported how close he came to landing the role, but Jackson didn’t say much about the audition. That doesn’t mean he regrets losing out on the role: “I wouldn’t want another Edward Cullen other than Robert Pattinson. He’s perfect.”

Henry Cavill

Henry announced the casting news a few years later in 2022. He explained on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he had no idea he would be cast in the role at the time: “I didn’t know they wanted to cast me, and the internet wasn’t the same medium back then as it is now, I only found out later. I was like, ‘Oh, okay, that would be great.’ At some point, Cavill’s candidacy took a backseat.

Jamie Campbell Bower

“They were really interested in me playing Edward,” the actor said during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “They said, ‘Jamie is so committed to his roles, we’d love to see him,’ and things like that. And it didn’t work out at the time because I think it was around the time Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, was coming out and they wanted to see me.” Jamie eventually joined the cast in another role as Kai.