Why Robert Pattinson Was Almost Fired From Twilight

As huge "Twilight" fans, we cannot imagine the "Twilight" films without Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan. The critics may have given the "Twilight Saga" brutal reviews, but fans across the world flocked to see the teen vampire boy fall in love with a human girl. Spectators weren't the only ones to love the movies; in a 2018 interview with Variety, the British actor said the "Twilight" saga would "always be a part of him." "Whenever anyone says [Twilight's] their favorite guilty pleasure, it's like, you say guilty, what you really mean is a pleasure." 

Pattinson was truly catapulted into stardom when he anchored the "Twilight" movie series. Though Pattinson's role as the tormented teen vampire stole millions of hearts and made him rich and famous, the actor was nearly fired from the blockbuster movie franchise. In a 2017 interview with Howard Stern, the ordinarily shy actor spilled the news that he came close to getting canned from the role that made him a star. 

Keep reading to find out why he almost got fired from the first "Twilight" movie! 

Believe it or not, Robert Pattinson was almost fired from his role as vampire Edward Cullen in "Twilight" because he didn't smile enough. During a 2017 interview with Howard Stern, Pattinson confessed he almost got fired for playing the part of Edward Cullen too seriously. The actor revealed that his agents told him, "You have to do the opposite of what you're doing now or you're going to get fired today." Ouch!

Pattinson explained that he saw the character differently than the producers and director, who wanted the character to be happier and less "brooding." "I remember the producers giving me a copy of the book... every single instance where my character smiled... they'd highlighted everything," Pattinson said. "I got a different colored highlighter and highlighted all the times when he frowns." 

Of course, Pattinson and the "Twilight" producers at Summit Entertainment worked it out, portraying the character for four more films and rising from teen idol to movie star. In a 2018 interview with The New York Times, Pattinson seemed at peace with his "Twilight" role, explaining that his work in the teen franchise led to movies that get rave reviews at film festivals. Pattinson told the Times that working on the "Twilight" series was an "amazing luxury." Looking back on the movie, Pattinson viewed it as "amazing luck... to just have fallen into it with the group of people I worked with on it." 

Robert Pattinson is starring in "The Batman," the biggest role of his career. In a 2020 interview with Total Film magazine (via Digital Spy), the "Twilight" star talked about the experience of stepping into the shoes of the iconic superhero. Playing Batman/Bruce Wayne is different from playing Edward Cullen, but Pattinson confessed that "Twilight" helped him prepare for the role of Batman. Pattinson said, "There's a slightly different feeling when you know loads and loads of people are going to watch something you're working on. I weirdly enjoyed it during 'Twilight,' the idea that you can mess it up. I guess I felt confident. I wanted to be on the big stage."

The fan mania of the "Twilight" movies was off the charts. Hordes of moms and daughters packed theatres for midnight showings of each film, and fans lined up overnight to buy the "Twilight" movies on DVD. 

After being stalked by Edward Cullen fans, playing Batman will be a piece of cake for Pattinson.

Robert Pattinson was known for trolling the "Twilight" series when he was younger. Pattinson told Variety (via Us Weekly), "'Twilight' is about this guy, and he finds the one girl he wants to be with, and he also wants to eat her. I mean, not eat her, but drink her blood or whatever." The heartthrob of the vampire romance even said he would "mindlessly hate" the films if he were an average moviegoer.

But Pattinson remembers his days as vampire Edward Cullen in a different light as he's gotten older. According to USA Today, the actor has softened his view of the "Twilight" series, which made him a global star. 

When the first "Twilight" movie celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2018, Pattinson reevaluated the impact of the books and movies. Pattison said (via USA Today), "It seems like with younger people in their late teens, early 20s, it's sort of become quite a hip thing to like. It's a fascinating second wave of people appreciating it, which is kind of cool. I think when anything becomes a massive phenomenon, there's always people who get annoyed because it's just everywhere. But now it seems like a retro thing: the soundtrack, the fashion. It's like, 'Oh, that's so late 2000s.'"