Hollywood has come a long way with playing vampires in movies. It goes back to silent motion picture movies like 1913 The Vampire and the popular 1922 Nosferatu. In recent decades, before the Twilight series, we had the 1994 Interview with the Vampire, 1998 Blade, 2003 Underworld, and 2004 Van Helsing.
The first Twilight movie released in 2008 became the start of a romantic fantasy series that’ll eventually become a global success. Twilight helped bridge the gap between what could have been termed a horror movie with teenage romance. Beyond the neck-piercing, blood-drinking nature of vampires, Twilight helped show the capabilities of having a family life, compassion, love, and romance.
Before the series grew into a box office hit, these were the original cast of the 2008 Twilight movie.
Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart)
Credit: Twilight
Although Kristen Stewart was not a new face to TV screens, no other movie character had impacted her acting career as playing Bella Swan. Bella is a seventeen-year-old stereotypical girl with divorced parents. After her mom remarries, she moves back in with her dad in a small town called Forks.
Bella reunites with her childhood friend Jacob Black and tries to adapt to her new high school. She’s particularly drawn to the mysterious demeanor of the Cullen siblings. Sitting next to one of Cullen’s kids, Edward, in biology class will be the beginning of the rest of her life.
Kristen Stewart was remarkably an excellent cast for the role. She delivers all the emotions expected of the character, who is introduced to the vague world of vampires and a teen in love.
Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson)
Credit: Twilight
Robert Pattinson makes being a vampire sexy. With his portrayal of the vampire character Edward Cullen, dating vampires suddenly became excitingly appealing. His character, Edward, turned in 1918, is a 108-year-old teenage vampire.
The Cullen family are what other vampires may call vegans, as they only feed on animal blood. Other than that, Edward has superhuman speed and can read minds. His life changes when he meets Bella in biology class. Unlike other humans, he’s unable to read Bella’s mind.
As Bella’s love interest, he tries to push her away until he discovers he’s in love with her. Bringing her into the Cullen family is the least of his problems, as this action exposes her to threats from other vampires outside the fold.
Even his character Cedric Diggory couldn’t give him the fame and success Edward Cullen brought. Nevertheless, in movie history, Robert Pattinson remains one of the sexiest lead role vampires.
Charlie Swan (Billy Burke)
Credit: Twilight
Billy Burke plays the single dad character of Charlie Swan. Charlie is Bella’s father and the town’s Chief of Police. He tries to make life easy for his teenage daughter, who just moved into town, while also investigating the cause of animal deaths. Thumbs up to Burke for delivering an amazing performance.
Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner)
Credit: Twilight
Taylor Lautner plays the Jacob Black character, a childhood friend of Bella Swan. He’s a Native American of the Quileute tribe in Forks. Way before he became the buff, attractive Jacob we see in other Twilight parts, Taylor Lautner played the young teen who has a secret crush on Bella. He’s also uncomfortable with her growing relationship and fondness with the Cullens.
Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli)
Credit: Twilight
Peter Facinelli plays the patriarch of the Cullen family, Carlisle. Ironically, he’s a 300-plus years vampire who’s the small town’s physician. For a vampire, he’s quite welcoming of Bella into his household. He and his wife have four adopted vampire children (Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper) and live together as a normal family.
James Witherdale (Cam Gigandet)
Credit: Twilight
Every fantasy movie has got to have its villain, and James Witherdale is it! He’s a highly skilled tracker with a super heightened sense of smell. Captivated by Bella’s scent, he sets his focus on playing a game by hunting her down. Cam Gigandet delivers a superb bad-guy vampire performance to the character.
Victoria Sutherland (Rachelle Lefevre)
Credit: Twilight
Rachelle Lefevre plays the character of Victoria, a mate of James and also one of the nomadic vampires. She joins her lover, James, in playing his hunting and tracking game for Bella. When things get out of hand, Edward kills and burns James. The movie ends with Victoria watching Bella and Edward at the prom with a seething vengeance. She stars in the movie’s sequel as one of its villains.
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