Having firmly established themselves as actors in both indie features and the studio system, it's sometimes easy to forget that Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were once unknown actors who appeared together in Twilight. The original vampire-based YA adaptation will soon be hitting its tenth anniversary. In the midst of looking on the film that started it all, Catherine Hardwicke, the director behind 2008's film, reflected back on the intense audition process -- particularly the "electricity and chemistry" found between its soon-to-be enormously famous leads. Hardwicke is now admitting she even warned Pattinson off due to the chemistry, noting,
It was pretty positive. After the end of their audition, I could tell that there was a lot of electricity and chemistry. And I remember I told Rob, separately, I went, 'Listen, man, you gotta remember that she's under 18 and in our country, you can get in trouble! He went, 'Okay, okay, jeez, calm down!'
That's certainly an interesting revelation from Catherine Hardwicke. As the filmmaker told People upon reflecting memories on the enormous box office success and cult legacy that ensued with Twilight, Kristen Stewart was the first person to get cast in the adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling book. Robert Pattinson, meanwhile, was the next person cast, and there was an intense romantic spark shared between Stewart and Pattinson -- even from the beginning, it seems. Still, Pattinson was 21 when he auditioned for the first movie, while Stewart was only 17 at that time. Therefore, the director was concerned about the early romantic chemistry that was reportedly bubbling from the early days between these upcoming actors.
Admittedly, though, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were not instantly in love with each other. As Catherine Hardwicke admitted, they were both "pretty shy" at first when it came to their scenes together. It was apparently more than a little "awkward" when they first acted alongside each other.
It was funny because they were both pretty shy and kind of a little bit nervous and awkward. I said, 'Okay, let's go do the biology scene where you guys first meet.' So we went to my kitchen table for that scene and you could see pretty quickly that they were vibing off of each other.
Of course, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart got friendly with each other as the films progressed. As the characters they played became more romantically involved throughout the series, Stewart and Pattinson also started to become a couple in real life after their work on the first movie. It was a relationship that lasted years, much like the film franchise, but it ended when Stewart was seen romantically linked to Rupert Sanders, the director of Snow White and the Huntsman. The couple reconnected after this public incident, but it wasn't a relationship meant to last. They broke up for good in 2013.
This is not the first time Catherine Hardwicke has reflected back on the legacy of Twilight. She also recently explained why she thought Kristen Stewart was ultimately the "perfect" fit for the lead role of Bella, and how Hardwicke knew she was great for the role from her work on Into the Wild. Furthermore, earlier this week, Hardwicke also talked about what she would ultimately change about the nearly 10-year-old film if she made it today.
Now, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have moved on to very different projects. Pattinson will next be seen in High Life, the acclaimed sci-fi horror drama set to be released in theaters nationwide sometime next year. He was also recently seen the dryly comedic western Damsel earlier this year. Kristen Stewart, meanwhile, is currently filming a role in Elizabeth Banks' Charlie's Angels reboot, which enters theaters on September 27th, 2019. She was also recently seen in the biographical period drama Lizzie alongside Chloe Sevigny. Stewart also filmed a role in the action-thriller Underwater.
