Kristen Stewart revealed to The New Yorker last year that her “Twilight” audition kiss with Robert Pattinson was the pivotal moment when she became convinced the actor had to be cast as Edward Cullen in the vampire romance films. “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke guested on “The Big Hit Show” podcast (via Insider) this month and looked back at the audition that launched a zeitgeist-defining film franchise.
“Rob and Kristen did the audition right here on the bed. They did the kissing scene and he fell off and landed right there on this floor,” Hardwicke said. “[Rob] walked in and he had his hair dyed black for some play, with these wacky bangs. He was a bit out of shape. His shirt was just all messy, and I’m like, ‘Oh, okay. Okay, let’s see how this goes.'”
According to Hardwicke, Pattinson “was so into” the kissing scene that “he fell off the bed.” The director added, “I’m like, ‘Dude, calm down.’ And I’m in there filming with my little video camera, whatever…In the end, Kristen was like, ‘It has to be Rob.'”
“I could tell they had a lot of chemistry, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ I thought, Kristen was 17. I don’t want to get in some illegal things,” Hardwicke added. “So I remember I told Rob, ‘By the way, Kristen is 17. In our country, it’s illegal to have a sexual…’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, okay, whatever.'”
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Stewart said of the audition last year, “[Pattinson had an] intellectual approach that was combined with ‘I don’t give a fuck about this, but I’m going to make this sing.’ And I was, like, ‘Ugh, same.’ And, whatever, we were young and stupid and, not to say that we made it so much better, but that’s what it needed, and that’s what anybody playing those parts needed to feel.”
