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 believe rather, that everyone has sex before marriage (laughs)—then and now. I also don’t believe that girls ‘must respect themselves’ or that boys only want ‘the one’. If you behave like a gentleman, because chastity really suits you—okay. But if you take it for the newest fad in the dating world, then it’s rather off the mark.

This comparison seems to decrease as the films go. Fans don’t see me like that anymore. Contrarily to the first movie they can differentiate my character and me. At the start when I did public appearances, for them I was Edward 100%. I could read it in their eyes. Many lacked control which scared me. Everything has changed and now when I do interviews I am as honest and sincere as possible. I’m not Edward and I make sure it shows.

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.

I just kept telling everyone why I needed to take my shirt off in a scene, and everyone else had to think of reasons why I shouldn’t. ‘No, I don’t think so—Edward is much more chaste than that.’ Then I’d say, ‘No, seriously—I would like to wear a really tight tank top and have my belly come out of the bottom. And have some sweat on it, too.’

Every single time we had to do a threatening thing to each other—for one thing, you [Taylor Lautner] always have your shirt off, and so in the tent scene I literally grabbed your breast. And it’s very difficult to remain in the moment. Also, in that tent scene, I can’t really get over the fact that the world ‘thought’ sounds like ‘fart.’

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!

I remember seeing that scene thought and thinking like ‘God I don’t remember doing that, that’s a little bit saucy, that’s a little raunchy’ for a Twilight movie.

Something about kneeling down, because I had to kneel down so much in the ‘Twilight’ movies and it always looks really awkward. I’ve actually got quite long thighs and it doesn’t work.

I would love to have Edward with really short hair. It’s such a relief not having a big animal on my head most of the time.

Do I believe in a soul? Yeah. I mean, I think…yeah definitely. I mean, I always agreed—I can’t remember what—who—said it, but you know, a soul and a heaven must exist because good people aren’t rewarded enough on earth. Which like, I always liked that idea and the existence of a soul, if that makes sense.

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.

I like the glitter lube stuff, I thought that was really funny. I was just like, ‘I did not sign that!’

There is a bunch of fighting. In the most simplistic of ways, trying to be intimidating to Taylor [Lautner] is just physically humiliating. In one scene, I tried to grab him and his shoulder was too big! That was embarrassing.

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.

In Eclipse, Taylor and I have lots of scenes together where we have to be jealous and petty with each other. So it helps that I actually do feel inadequate when I see his body, especially because he’s younger than me. He fulfills every criteria of what teenage girls want, physically, in a guy. I felt like a had to prove myself against him.

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.

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.

It’s turned into this crazy situation. I guess it has become a sort of phenomenon now which I really, really didn’t expect.