‘Twilight’: Robert Pattinson Wanted ‘To Strangle’ Kristen Stewart During This ‘Eclipse’ Scene
It’s no secret that the main cast of the Twilight movies got along well. This is especially true of the three leads: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner. In fact, Stewart has been open about the fact that she felt an immediate synergy with Lautner and Pattinson from their very first meeting. As Stewart was the first actor cast in Twilight, she was able to vouch for Pattinson and Lautner over other actors when they were auditioning.
Pattinson and Stewart, in particular, took their roles in Twilight very seriously. Both of them were committed to making the movie more than just a cheesy teen drama. The pair even inspired the rest of the cast to up the intensity of their performances. But while both Stewart and Pattinson are very serious about storytelling and character development, they have drastically different approaches. In an interview with Collider, Pattinson revealed that while he is a very heady actor, Stewart leads with her instincts and her gut feelings.
Robert Pattinson on how his work style differs from that of his ‘Twilight’ co-star, Kristen Stewart
“For some reason, I can’t understand anything and I think I’m going really into the depth of the character when it just seems so obvious to Kristen,” Pattinson shared about his fellow Twilight castmate. “Her mind works completely differently. She can just feel things immediately, and I like to be more cerebral about things, in completely the opposite way of Kristen. I don’t feel confident unless I know more about the reasons why I’m doing things. I don’t really do that for other parts. That’s what I do for Edward. But, since the first one, I always like to go in-depth about things.”
Of course, Pattinson’s penchant for going in-depth and being in his head sometimes caused issues for him. The Twilight star recalled that while filming the tent scene in Eclipse, he was struggling with claustrophobia and getting stuck in his own head. “The first time we did that tent scene, I was really freaking out,” Pattinson shared. “I don’t know why. I think it had to do with claustrophobia because we were actually shooting in a tent. I just couldn’t get it together. I kept forgetting my lines, and I was so nervous. I just wanted to punch anyone who was near me.”
Pattinson says Stewart intervened when he was freaking out while shooting ‘Eclipse’
Seeing that her fellow Twilight castmate was struggling, Stewart stepped in to provide some levity. “We did about three takes, and Kristen was supposed to be asleep on the floor, and she saw that I was freaking out,” Pattinson recalled. “Half-way through the take, she suddenly opened her eyes and was just staring at me and kept trying to make me laugh, through the entire take.”
Pattinson didn’t appreciate Stewart’s antics at first. But, after a while, he realized that suppressing the laughter was actually helping him to relax and eventually that’s what made the scene work. “It’s the most serious scene in the whole movie. I just wanted to strangle her for the first two seconds, but then I could not stop laughing, the entire time,” The Twilight star shared. “We got literally one take where it went right, and it was because of that. When I was trying to hold back, I guess it made me more alive or something.”
‘Twilight’ fans love how tense, awkward, and funny the tent scene is
It’s impressive that Stewart was able to read Pattison well enough to know that he was struggling and that she stepped in to help alleviate the tension. Seeing as the tent scene is one of the most memorable scenes between Bella, Jacob, and Edward in The Twilight Saga, we can’t imagine what the reaction would have been from fans if the cast didn’t nail it.
