Many fans were surprised when Taylor Lautner was cast as Jacob Black in Twilight, the movie adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s mega-popular Twilight novel. We haven’t seen too many big-name actors play a werewolf in quite some time, and Lautner’s previous acting experience consisted of bit parts in some pretty bad movies. Luckily for Twi-hard fans, Lautner turned out to be a pretty good actor and filled the shoes of Jacob Black quite nicely.
The actor who plays Edward Cullen has some pretty interesting quotes from the set of Twilight. While filming the werewolf scenes, Christian McKay (who plays Edward) talked about his character and what it’s like to work with a famous novelist:
“It’s one thing to write something and another thing to live it. I think that when you read the books, it’s different to how you’re going to see it on the big screen.”
McKay said this while filming the climactic fight between Jacob and Edward. The fight was so epic that it earned its own Twitter account, @fightclubwwhocowboy, with almost 150K followers as we write this. Watching the fight in the theater will be pretty different from the way it looked on screen. While they’re both fast and furious, there is no denying that Michael Biehn and Robert Pattinson really stole the show.
“He is a brilliant writer, and it’s not like reading something out of a book. It’s more like watching someone play a part. He’s very talented, and he’s brought so much to the role.”
McKay isn’t the only member of the Twilight cast who had kind things to say about Meyer. The entire crew seemed to genuinely like working with the bestselling author, and when asked about her work ethic, the cast agreed that it was pretty impressive. According to McKay, Meyer is “very hard-working, and she comes to set every day early and stays late. And, you know, she writes all night.”
Another crew member, Michaela McManus, said that working with Meyer was “such an honour” and that “everybody just wants to be a part of her world.”
“She is a very giving writer, and she’s very generous with her talent. It’s an honour to work with her.”
Even the person playing Bella Swan, Kate Winslet, said that she was “blown away” by Meyer’s talent. “It’s an amazing story, and she’s made something beautiful out of it,” the Divine Kate said. “It’s a real privilege to be a part of something so special.”
“It is an honour to play Jacob Black, and I’m really looking forward to filming the wolf scenes. It’s been a thrill to work with Michael [Biehn] and Christian [McKay], and I’ve learned a lot. You know, the role is very physical, and a lot of running around, so I’m looking forward to that.”
When it comes to physical transformation scenes, Twilight is certainly not for the faint of heart. The movie’s make-up artists, for example, had to sculpt an entirely new face for Lautner’s character. While it looked phenomenal, it wasn’t easy. Making the character’s face longer was one of the biggest challenges, and it took several hours of touch-ups before they were happy with how it looked. To make matters worse, Lautner was under the impression that he was supposed to act naturally as a human and then transform into a wolf at will, which apparently is not the case. He had to get used to the prosthetics and the weight of the fur coat before filming began.
While we’re on the topic of transformations, let’s discuss the most talked-about scene in Twilight. It’s a scene that will live in infamy: Jacob Black climbs up on the roof of the Cullen mansion and transforms into a wolf. As previously mentioned, this is one of the most difficult scenes to film because it requires a lot of running around and lots of animals in tight spaces. While there were several takes, the scene is still considered one of the most pivotal in the movie because it’s the point at which Jacob’s wolf side takes over. Up to this point, the movie follows the usual teen wolf formula: the calm, collected Edward Cullen is pitted against the rambunctious, hormones-raging Jacob Black. But from this point on, it’s a whole different ballgame. The roof scene, in particular, is one of the most memorable in cinematic history because it introduced us to the terrifying, man-eating creature known as a werewolf.
While most of the scenes involving Jacob Black are incredibly tense, there is one moment that will make you laugh: right after he transforms for the first time, Jacob sits down next to Bella and offers her a cigarette. The two of them just break into laughter as they look at each other. It’s not an inappropriate reaction, given the circumstances. And although Christian McKay’s Edward Cullen seems like a pretty serious character, he gets rather emotional when he sees Laura Dern’s character, Dr. Cullen, for the first time. He’s been keeping her alive all this time, and finally getting to meet her has him choked up. It’s clear that this is a man who cares deeply for his patients and will go to great lengths to protect them. He also happens to be one of the most complicated characters in the entire series. There are a lot of layers to peel back, and it will definitely be interesting to see how this unique character is developed in the upcoming sequels.
Many people have compared the Twilight movie to Batman Begins, and having seen both recently, it’s a fair comparison. The key difference is that Batman Begins was grounded in reality: it wasn’t just a matter of showing up and pretending to be something you’re not. The story introduced us to a world that was similar to our own yet subtly different, and although it was preposterous and often campy, it was still relatively believable. The movie also had clever references to other films and popular culture, and the writing was much more humor-centric. Christian McKay had a lot of fun with his role as Edward, and it’s clear that he’s having a lot of fun with the part. We’ll probably never know how much fun Michael Biehn was having playing Wolfman Jack, but we do know that he was having a blast.
“I’ve been wanting to play a character like this for a long time,” McKay said. “I’ve always loved the character of Jack. And, you know, he was a real loner. He lived in a garage, and he didn’t have any friends. So, it’s been pretty cool to play a character like that.”
It’s clear that McKay is having a ball playing Jack, but I had to ask: is it hard to play a character with so few lines?
“No, not really,” McKay replied. “It’s not like I’m not getting any lines at all. I have lines, but it’s more about what’s happening around me. So, I think that the character is pretty complex, and he has a lot of layers. And, you know, it just seems like someone who doesn’t really care about anything. He’s just kind of there, and he doesn’t say a whole lot. But, you know, I think people relate to that. It’s a pretty cool character to play, and it’s made me an even better actor. You know, just being in the presence of greatness every day makes you a better actor.”
Another interesting tidbit about the Twilight star cast is that many of them are or were or might be aspiring artists. While many of them are or were or might be aspiring artists, many of them are or were or might be aspiring artists. Kate Winslet and Taylor Lautner each have a real love for painting, and several of the cast members studied or studied art. During breaks from filming, they would often go to the studio of their choice and work on their art projects. While this might not seem like a job for somebody with acting talent, it seems that being on set is teaching them a lot about the craft. Winslet told Vanity Fair in 2013 that painting is “very freeing” because it doesn’t require her to perform the same way every day. It’s something new every time she sits down to paint, and it keeps her creatively stimulated.
McKay’s painting skills were on full display during the filming of Twilight. He would often go to his art studio during breaks and do his thing, painting away as though his life depended on it. While we don’t have any evidence that this is the case, it wouldn’t be surprising if it turned out that his artistic talent actually does depend on his acting ability.