Kellan Lutz talks “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Kellan Lutz takes a photo with a fan at last year’s “Twilight” premiere. (Associated Press photo)
Kellan Lutz and Nikki Reed reprise their roles as vampire couple Emmett Cullen and Rosalie Hale, adopted siblings of saga hero Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), in the sequel “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
LOS ANGELES — For Kellan Lutz, co-starring in the phenomenally popular “Twilight” films has given his acting career a brightly dawning future.
“I’m just so blessed to be a part of this amazing experience. It’s such a magic carpet ride. And it’s opened up doors for all us within our careers to frontline other movies and be a part of bigger and better things,” Lutz said a phone interview earlier this fall from Vancouver, British Columbia.
“It’s just so amazing to have forged these relationships with these other actors who are just as humble and down-to-earth and have their heads on solid shoulders.”
In “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” the second “Twilight” film opening Friday, Lutz reprises his role as vampire Emmett Cullen, the adopted big brother to the series’ brooding hero, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson).
In the sequel, Edward decides to leave his human girlfriend Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) after a minor accident puts her in mortal danger. In his absence, Bella tumbles into a deep depression, which is only lightened through her friendship with sunny Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). But Bella again finds herself in supernatural peril when Jacob becomes a werewolf.
The films are based on Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling four-book series, though Lutz didn’t realize that when he got the role in “Twilight.” Like the novels, the movies boast legions of passionate, largely female, fans.
“We didn’t know what this would become in a way. We were just actors who fell in love with a script and within doing that, it’s not like a Marvel hero where you know Green Lantern or Captain America, whoever is that is gonna be famous right off the block. We fell in love with our characters and kind of looked at this as just another job,” Lutz said during a recent press conference with co-stars Ashley Greene, Elizabeth Reaser and Nikki Reed at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.
The North Dakota native is thrilled fans have accepted him as Emmett. “Twilight” was a 2008 blockbuster, and “New Moon” is one of the most hotly anticipated movies of the year.
“We all are stepping in and giving a face to our characters, which fans already have celebrities, actors, who they envisioned as Emmett or Alice or Bella. And it’s nice to have their support, so it’s a huge weight off our shoulders shooting ‘New Moon’ and then ‘Eclipse,’” Lutz said.
When Edward leaves Bella in “New Moon,” the rest of the Cullen coven also cuts ties with her. and abandons the small town of Forks, Wash. That meant Lutz, 24, and his Cullen co-stars had to make the most of short screen time in the sequel. Lutz tried to show his character’s protective side, especially his big-brotherly manner toward Bella.
“The more you can still be in the scene and react … and really be in the scene without dialogue, the more you can add to the scene and fulfill it and just make it a full scene. That’s definitely the hardest part, but in a way it’s where the best acting comes out.” he said from Vancouver, after a day of fight training for “Eclipse,” which wrapped filming at the end of October.
Lutz is confident his patience will pay off in future installments of the franchise: Emmett has a beefed up role in “Eclipse” as well as in the fourth book, “Breaking Dawn.” During a separate L.A. press conference, Pattinson said the tentative timeframe for filming “Breaking Dawn” is fall 2010.
“We’re doing such intense fight training that we’re gonna look like trained killers by the time the fans and the audience sees it onscreen,” Lutz said of “Eclipse.” “And I really love my character in ‘Breaking Dawn,’ so I really want to bring him to life.”
Outside the “Twilight” series, Lutz next will be seen in the remake of “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” Growing up, he said horror villains such as Chucky and Jason Voorhees didn’t scare him, but “Elm Street’s” Freddy Krueger did.
“It’s such a blessing to be a part of something that for me, I grew up with,” he said. “It’s this psychological thriller that can take you in your dreams.”
Though fame can be a double-edged sword, — he says his dog Kola, who doesn’t like strangers, helps him deal with the paparazzi at home — Lutz again counts his blessings when he considers the “Twilight” phenomenon.
“We’re blessed to be actors and have such a loving fan base. And the fans are always so great, and they’re giving us presents, which is so crazy ‘cause we’re allowed to work because of them. And the time they put into making dolls or buying gummi bears or anything like that, it’s very humbling.”
-BAM
A version of this story also appears in Nov. 18′s Life section of The Oklahoman.
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[...] but also a part of a juggernaut that has avid and devoted fans. Among one of these actors is Kellan Lutz who is not shy in giving the love back to the fans that adore [...]