‘Twilight’ Cast Members Took Classes to Learn to Behave Like Vampires
Though nobody could’ve predicted the popularity of Twilight, the cast still worked super hard on the film. Determined to tell a story that wasn’t just a cheesy, teen romance, the actors took their roles very seriously. Lots of training went into making sure that the cast could portray their characters in a realistic way. In fact, the actors who played vampires even took specific classes to help them get into character.
Stephenie Meyer created a new type of vampire for ‘Twilight’
Because Twilight was based on the wildly popular book by Stephenie Meyer, the film already had a built-in audience. This made it extremely important for the cast to nail the physicality of the characters that the author had created. Of course, Meyer’s interpretation of the blood-sucking vampires was quite different from how the creatures were typically described in traditional folklore.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Nikki Reed (Rosalie Hale) got candid about her initial reaction to portraying a mythical creature. “Stephenie Meyer created a new kind of vampire in these books,” Reed shared about Twilight. “We don’t have fangs, we don’t have blood dripping out of our mouths, we don’t sleep in coffins. I never really thought that I was going to be like Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire because this is such a different take on the theme.”
The cast took classes to help them learn to behave like vampires
One thing that helped the Twilight cast embody the new-aged vampires was taking classes. According to Reed, she and her Cullen counterparts took classes for weeks to ensure they could play their characters with believability and nuance.
“During the three weeks that we were rehearsing, we had classes to learn how to behave in the roles, like movement class,” the Twilight alum shared. “I don’t know how much of it was incorporated in the film, but it was certainly good for the mind.”
The baseball scene in ‘Twilight’ also required a lot of physical preparation
One scene, in particular, that required a lot of physical preparation was the vampire baseball sequence. Given the Cullens super speed and super strength, their skills were supposed to rival that of any professional baseball player. This meant that many of the Twilight actors had to be trained to move like a vampire and like an athlete. Of course, not everyone was thrilled about the baseball emphasis.
In an interview with Collider, Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen) revealed that he was pretty miserable at baseball. Much to his chagrin, that didn’t stop Twilight director, Catherine Hardwicke, from being meticulous about getting his movements right.
Robert Pattinson admits he didn’t like rehearsing for the baseball sequence
“I’m terrible at baseball,” the Twilight star shared. “Catherine was so intense about wanting me to look like a pro baseball player and I just didn’t care at all. For a lot of the rehearsal period that we could’ve been doing stuff there I wanted to be doing proper rehearsals and she was like, ‘No. You have to look like a baseball player.'”
Clearly, the Twilight cast and crew were serious about making sure the physicality of the supernatural characters was accurate. And while it may have been a bit annoying for some of the actors, it likely paid off for those watching the wildly popular films.
