A Twilight actor reveals a behind-the-scenes secret about Edward’s transformation scene. Adapting the 2005 Stephenie Meyer novel of the same name, the first installment of the vampire film series came out in 2008. It introduced the world to Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, who would both go on to become major stars in the future. The Twilight series ended up being a huge financial success, making over $3 billion worldwide across five films.

In a panel at MegaCon (attended by Collider), Twilight actor Peter Facinelli reveals the secret behind one of the vampire movie’s key scenes. The scene in question is when Facinelli’s character Carlisle turns Edward into a vampire. After the original take, Facinelli felt the need to apologize because his character, Carlisle, did not ask before turning to Edward. He changed approaches for take two, wherein he whispered “Rob, you’re so handsome” while leaning down to him. Check out the full quote from Facinelli below:

I leaned in the first time, on the first take, and said, ‘I’m sorry,’ Cause I felt like Carlisle didn’t really ask for permission—you should always ask for permission.

But on the second take, I leaned in and said, ‘Rob, you’re so handsome. And then he smiled a little bit. And that’s the take that’s in the movie.

What This Meant For The Twilight Scene

This Explains Edward’s Odd Smile

As Facinelli mentions, Pattinson gives a faint smile as the other actor leans down to bite his neck. This became an iconic aspect of Edward’s transformation scene, as, ill with the Spanish flu and unaware of what was happening, it seems a bit odd that Edward himself would have the impulse to smile during that scene. Still, Pattinson “smiled a little bit” in the scene before writhing in shock after the bite, which indeed became the version that was used in the movie.

Even though Pattinson’s career has later proven that he is a top-notch actor, he did not have such a reputation at the time. As such, his acting choices as Edward were often questioned during the time of the film’s release. The oddity of Edward’s pre-transformation smile has certainly been remarked on over the years, but now there is more of an explanation for it. Pattinson may not have had a poker face, but it was Facinelli who did something off-script.

Our Take On The Twilight Scene

The Smile Ends Up Kind Of Working For The Scene

Beyond the flattery whispered into Pattinson’s ear, Facinelli’s take on the transformation scene overall is interesting. The actor is right that Carlisle did not ask for any sort of permission before bending down to suck the sickly blood from Edward’s neck. Carlisle’s foreboding nature ends up being well-counterbalanced by the levity of Edward’s brief and subtle smile, and now we know why that happened in Twilight.

Source: Collider