Every one of us knows the time, before something happens between a couple, when you’re still totally insecure: Does the other person like me or not? That is definitely the riskiest time! This moment can last an eternity. To this sweet uncertainty also comes anxiety, especially if it’s the first time for both people. I believe this worry stirs up desire. And in this case, the period of desire lasts almost four books [The Twilight Saga].

I think I’ve become more old-fashioned. I feel like I’m already turning middle-aged now. It’s quite nice to be doing a series of films [The Twilight Saga] that a lot of people think uphold positive virtues. Some people actually think the films are a good influence on their kids.

The more you are exposed, the more people irrationally hate you, I think we reached a point, a peak, with ‘New Moon’ where the stories became so saturated into the culture that it started to feel normal. It’s like the tabloids don’t know what to write anymore because they’ve used up all their scandals.

For some reason I felt a lot more comfortable with the action stuff this time. Normally I just felt so silly, like even in New Moon I remember starting the fight with Taylor [Lautner] at the end, I just felt like such a moron. I think it’s the clothes, like you’re always wearing such skinny jeans and like a little blazer and a kind of woolen sweater and trying to act like you’re tough, and you just know it’s not going to happen. Now I have little thermal tops and things, and now I’m wearing charcoal!

Um, what did I have to learn? I guess I had to learn how to run properly, instead of like—in the last two, I’ve always run with a kind of limp slash skip and I had to sort of look like I could run more solidly this time, so I spent a lot of time on a giant treadmill; like a kind of—like one of those wheels that mice run around in and got filmed doing it to improve my form. I guess that was one of the big things.

That was one of the hardest things I had to do the whole movie, I had no idea really how to do it, so I was kind of shooting in the wind and… shooting in the wind is not the expression.

On the first shot on the first day, I kind of strained one of my ass cheeks. My ass just couldn’t take the strain of the first day. And they had to bring in a physiotherapist and I, uh, had to have a butt massage on the first day.

Especially in New Moon, and actually in the whole series, I’ve never played it thinking, ‘Oh, I’m in a series of girls’ films and I’m doing something just for girls.’ I don’t feel like I’m doing an animated Tiger Beat, every week. I like doing romantic scenes. I felt like a lot of the storyline in New Moon is very heartbreaking and true. I didn’t think I was doing something, just for the sake of romance. I thought, in a lot of ways, that it was a really sad story.

The fight scene was actually really fun. It’s the only fight scene I’ve ever done in which I actually look like I’m quite good at fighting in it! I’m quite happy with that.

He’s (Edward) the hero of the story that just refuses to accept that he’s the hero, and I think that’s kind of admirable.

New Moon will be a lot more relatable for guys, whereas it was quite difficult for me to express all those emotions in Twilight. I think it’s difficult for guys to accept those kind of emotions.

If I literally could go back and do it again, I would try to do it better. I had wanted to be better.

I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary to be so famous. It all comes down to those five minutes of emotions that you give to people and that’s nice to feel. It’s part of the magic and everything that comes from making movies.
The expectations, the dreams, the fantasies; it’s all an illusion. I’m a very normal guy, I can promise you that.

I don’t really need to do stuff to relax or get away because all my interests are part of my job. Like I’ll watch movies to be inspired to do other movies. I read books to be inspired. I listen to music to be inspired to write music. Everything I do is to create something.

…girls scream out for Edward, not Robert. I still can’t get a date.

He’s a character that can’t change his condition, he didn’t choose his fate. .. Imagine what would you feel like if you knew you would never grow old and that you would live forever. And what’s worse, you didn’t look for it. You become a sort of Superman without even wanting to be that, you were just a 17 year old kid. You must feel a huge impotence and frustration. Instead of believing you’re hero, you’re a person who can’t find himself and doesn’t know who he is. Understanding that has been fundamental in understanding Edward. That very human side of him is what I love about him and I feel like I can relate to that. There’s something we all find hard to change and face about ourselves.

It’s really funny how everyone looks at Edward as the hero, and he’s continuously saved by the damsel in distress(Bella).

I don’t know if I like him as a person. He is a little straight-laced for my liking. He is not rebellious. I think that should be respected.

At the end of the day, it’s just a part. You just go into it and you live your life. You’re walking down the street and — this a bad analogy — you step on a stone and it flies away and you don’t know where it’s going. And then you’re just trying not to drown. And that’s my life.

I would. I’m just kind of a pussy, I guess. That’s the problem. I’d love to. I think everyone should do open-mic. I think it’s a very healthy thing for your soul. But yeah, I’d love to do it again.

Besides, I’m sick of people saying: ‘You can only make those Twilight films, you’re nothing more than a fleeting star.’ I refuse to accept that!

Somehow, work has become my best refuge. Even though it may sound ridiculous, as soon as I get some free time I start reading scripts. I feel somewhat frustrated for not going to college, so I try desperately to self educate. I have brought with me to Vancouver like 100 books, they’re all scattered all over the hotel room.

The interesting thing about this one is that so much of my character is in Bella’s head. It’s based on a mixture of memories and nightmares. Bella thinks she is going mad. I get to do some really creepy stuff. In other words, Bella is really frightened of [her hallucinations]. It’s really, really different than Twilight. I think that a lot of people will be kind of scared by this one. I wanted to try and put that into Twilight but I couldn’t really find a way to make Edward scary.

Edward and Bella’s reunion in New Moon is good. It’s different from the book so I think people will be happy. This movie will have a very different mood. In visual terms it’s going to be so different from Twilight. It’s also a lot scarier. Chris [Weitz, New Moon director] is very willing to go down that route.

It becomes a joke. There was some magazine the other day about me and Kristen[Stewart] and when you look at it and realize it’s on the front of a magazine… You realize that people are actually reading that even though how ridiculous it is. It’s really bizarre.”

I’m not stressed at all on this job, so it’s kind of a nice feeling. Since the film was a success so you get a little more free reign and people are more trusting.

First I read the book and I thought there was no way that I could play and create all those perfect descriptions of Edward. Nobody in the world could have brought to life someone so awesome. Then I read the script and auditioned with Kristen [Stewart], and she acted in a very unexpected way. She gave strength to Bella so that made Edward’s character a little bit more weak, and I took it from there. He, being some kind of demon, is completely taken with her. She dominates him.

Twilight fans are very loyal to the book and to Stephenie Meyer. I had a 100% negative reaction from fans when I got the role of Edward. … Edward is some sort of perfect creature, the ideal guy. And fans wanted a guy like Leonardo DiCaprio, but Edward is supposed to be 17. When I met Stephenie Meyer, she approved me for the character and literally the next day all the fans changed their minds and accepted me.

I think we all have the right to fall in love several times. The conventional idea of love, the idea of being with somebody for the rest of your life and love her forever sounds so silly to me, and so unrealistic. I think you can love ten people at the same time.

I don’t mind, my character is so good and he deserves to be admired. From the moment I signed up for this I knew what I was getting myself into. Edward is a vampire, he’s not a hero like Superman, he’s a vampire in love who wants to be normal.