By Christina Radish

Taylor Lautner at the Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, Calif. on September 18, 2008.

From Summit Entertainment, Twilight is an action-packed, modern-day love story between a teenaged girl and the vampire that she falls in love with. When Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who is unlike anyone she’s ever met, they are swept up into a passionate and decidedly unorthodox romance. Their forbidden love affair, between vampire and mortal, becomes threatened when James (Cam Gigandet), Laurent (Edi Gathegi) and Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre), the Cullens’ vampire enemies, come to town. 

Two of the film’s stars, Taylor Lautner, who plays Bella’s friend Jacob Black, and Edi Gathegi, who is part of the evil vampire clan, took time out from the year’s San Diego Comic-Con to talk to MediaBlvd Magazine about how excited they both are to be a part of such a cultural phenomenon.

MediaBlvd Magazine> For those who are not familiar with this book at all, who are your characters in the film and what is their background?

Edi Gathegi> I play Laurent. He is traveling with James and Victoria, and we’re a coven of bad vampires. I don’t like to call them bad vampires. Maybe James is bad. But, Laurent is a traditional vampire. He eats humans. That’s the way he sustains himself. Whereas, the Cullens call themselves vegetarians because they sustain themselves by eating animals. They don’t eat human beings. I think that Laurent is creepy because he eats humans, but I don’t think he has a bad sensibility or a bad heart. He doesn’t have an actual heart. Vampires don’t have hearts. Taylor Lautner> I play Jacob Black, who is a Native American that is part of the Quileute tribe. He’s a family friend of the Swans, Bella’s family. He’s really fun and outgoing, easy to talk to and easy to relate to. And, he’s got a pretty big crush on Bella.

MediaBlvd> Did you do any research into the Native American culture?

Taylor> I did actually, yeah. When I first went up to Portland to film, I met with some real Quileute Native Americans. We went out to dinner with them and got a chance to talk to them. The funny thing I learned is that they’re just like me. They showed up in basketball uniforms. Somehow, we got on the topic of what they like to do for fun, and they go to the beach and check out girls. It was really interesting to learn that they’re just like me.

MediaBlvd> What is your background?

Taylor> I’m mostly French, Dutch and German. I’m not really sure where I get the dark, tan skin from. It just kind of happened.

MediaBlvd> Did they make you darker for the film?

Taylor> No, it’s just me. They definitely add a wig, but not the darker skin.

MediaBlvd> What’s the wig like?

Taylor> It was black hair, about half-way down my back. It was itchy.

MediaBlvd> Taylor, how do you feel about the Team Jacob t-shirts that people are wearing?

Taylor> It’s interesting. It’s weird to see my character’s name on other people’s bodies.

MediaBlvd> Jacob doesn’t have a huge part in the first book, but he comes in more in the next two books. Did you keep in mind where he’s going in the future, when you were making Twilight?

Taylor> For the first movie, I wanted to focus on the first book, so I actually just read Twilight, before filming Twilight. Then, as soon as I got home, I started reading the other books. I knew where the character went, but I just wanted to focus on the first book while filming that one.

MediaBlvd> Had you been fans of the vampire or werewolf genres prior to this?

Edi> I wasn’t.

Taylor> Neither was I.

Edi> I was not a vampire fan, but I’ve always had a secret desire to play one. After reading these books, I was like, “This is a fantastic vampire story,” because it’s a romance. It could be set anywhere, but it just happens to be about vampires. Stephenie makes the world very believable. So, I was excited about getting to do this particular film. It’s sexy.

MediaBlvd> What is so sexy about vampires?

Edi> Their immortality, the super-strength, the super-speed. I wouldn’t be so pretentious to say that I am that, but in the book they’re described as gorgeous. They’re beautiful. Every guy wants to have that kind of speed and strength, and ability to seduce a woman with his eyes.

MediaBlvd> Do you actually get some make-up to wear, to alter your appearance?

Edi> There’s no teeth. The rules in this world are different than with any other vampires. There’s no fangs, there’s no garlic, there’s no crosses, which is really cool. It’s a new take on vampires.

MediaBlvd> Ede, how did you tap into your inner vampire? Do you have to get into a mood?

Edi> Everything is delicious to me. I made personal choices for my vampire that I won’t talk about, but they were all humans, at one point, who got turned. The difference is that they’re just faster, stronger and they don’t die. They live forever. What happens when you can’t die? You have to figure out things to do to entertain yourself because you’re not sleeping. Laurent is kind of a party guy. I think my vampire just wants to know where the action is because he’s bored.

MediaBlvd> Did they beef up your part at all, since Laurent has a relatively small role in the book?

Edi Gathegi at the T-Mobile G1 Launch Party held at Siren Studios in Hollywood, Calif. on October 17, 2008.

MediaBlvd> Taylor, how do you get into character, in order to play a werewolf?

Taylor> Jacob is actually not even a werewolf yet. Eventually, he will be.

MediaBlvd> Are you looking forward to playing that, down the road?

Taylor> Definitely! Nothing’s for sure yet, so we’ll see. That’d definitely be cool.

MediaBlvd> Does any of the 2^nd book work into the 1^st movie?

Taylor> No.               

MediaBlvd> What was it like working with Kristen Stewart? Did you guys form a bond on set?

Taylor> Kristen’s awesome! She’s an amazing actress and she’s an awesome girl. She’s a lot of fun.

MediaBlvd> Did you have chemistry?

Taylor> Yeah, definitely! Everybody had good chemistry on this set.

Edi> They assembled a good team of actors.

MediaBlvd> How was it to do the stunts in the film? Did you have any wire work?

Taylor> I didn’t have any action in this film, sadly. If you want to call me driving a truck action, I got to drive a nice, old, beat-up truck.

Edi> We did wire work. We do all our own stunts. They’re live stunts. There’s no CGI stuff, like in other movies. I got to do the magic carpet, which is pretty much like a people-mover. It was moving 15 mph and I was walking on top of it, so the illusion is that I’m walking 30 mph through the forest. That was cool. There’s some really cool action stuff that I think guys will get a kick out of. There’s not just the romance for the girls, but action for the guys as well.

MediaBlvd> What was the weather and atmosphere of Portland like? Did it lend a lot to the realism of the story?

Edi> For the vampires in this mythology, they can go out in the daytime, but they just can’t be hit by direct sunlight because their skin starts to glitter. Portland and the Northwest is maybe the most overcast part of the country, so that’s why the book and the film are set there. So, when the sun would shine, we’d be handicapped. People would go, “Wait! I see sun rays. Why aren’t they glistening? We don’t want to do CGI on that kind of stuff.” The weather was just very cold and it rained a lot, so that was a handicap. The weather was difficult, but we were filming a movie.

Taylor> The thing I thought was interesting about the weather was that, usually on film sets, when it starts raining they have to call cut and wait for the rain to stop. But, for Twilight, it was the opposite. There was one scene that was just supposed to be a normal walk on the beach with Bella, and it turned out that there was a hurricane/tornado warning with hail, sleet, snow and freezing rain, and the tide was up to our knees. So, the weather was difficult. 

MediaBlvd> Did you want to talk to Stephenie at all about the characters and the story, or did you not want her influencing your performance?

Edi> It’s not that I didn’t want her influence, I didn’t know that that was an option. So, I made all my own choices, and I hope she’s happy with it.

Taylor> I didn’t talk to her about it either, but I had a chance to meet her, just for five minutes, while I was filming the beach scene. It was just a quick hello. She was coming to L.A. to do a book tour and I wanted to see her, but I ended up being busy doing something else.

MediaBlvd> What do you think has inspired the frenzied popularity of these books? Why do you think it resonates?

Edi> I think the books are popular because they deal with real human behavior and real issues, like love, life and death, and everybody can relate to that. The fans are hungry to see this film, and we’re eager to show them a good representation of what Stephenie wrote in her book. I think that Catherine and the rest of the cast has been able to achieve that

MediaBlvd> How surprised are you that this is such a phenomenon?

Taylor> Definitely, it’s very surprising, but at the same time, it’s because the fans behind it are just extraordinary. The fans are driving this thing, and the storyline’s awesome. It’s got everything in it, so it’s going to be interesting to see on the big screen.

MediaBlvd> Are you worried about all of the expectations?

Edi> No, because I think the script is very close to what the book is. I think they did a very good job of representing the book well, and I think the fans are going to be happy and satisfied.

Taylor> It’s exciting, for me, knowing the fan base behind this and how much they love the book series.

MediaBlvd> Do you keep track of what the fans are saying online, or is it easier for you to just stay away from that and not be intimidated by it?

Edi> I’ve been told, as an actor, never to read what people write about you because it can affect you. But, I am a Twilight fan, so I am one of them. I’m online, checking out what people are talking about and what’s going on. I couldn’t wait for Breaking Dawn to come out. I’m a Twi-hard --a die-hard Twilight fan. I’m a dork.

Taylor> I guess it can get a little nerve-wracking, at some points, but it’s just exciting for me, knowing how much the fans support this, and knowing how passionate and dedicated they are. I read it sometimes. I’m not on the internet 24/7 going, “Ooh, what are they saying about me? What’s the latest stuff?” But, sometimes I run into the stuff, and I do check out some of the fan sites for the book.     

MediaBlvd> Have you had much interaction with the Twilight Moms?

Edi> I never got a chance to meet any of the fans on set, but I’ve done some interviews for the Twilight Moms and the Twilight Lexicon, and they’re just lovely people. They inspire me to want to continue doing this. They’re so supportive. I just hope they enjoy the movie, as much as we enjoyed filming it.

Taylor> The Twilight Moms were actually on set while I was filming one of the scenes, and they were definitely fun. It was one of the most exciting interviews I’ve had. They’re so passionate about this book.

MediaBlvd> Is it hard for you guys to withhold tidbits, when fans are constantly asking for them?

Edi> Because everybody has access to the books, they know what happens, so there’s not that much that we can give away. I haven’t found myself in a position where I felt like I had to hold information back. I haven’t been asked specific questions. I don’t know what I would do.                                             

MediaBlvd> Is there anything in the movie that’s going to surprise fans of the book?

Taylor> I know there’s a couple things in the movie that weren’t in the book, but for the most part, the movie script is pretty identical to the book. The script has to be 100 pages instead of 500-something, but I felt that they did an amazing job, taking the parts needed and putting them in the script. I think the exciting part, for the fans, is just seeing their book brought to life, on the big screen, and seeing what their characters look like. They have this pre-set image of what the characters look like, so I think it’s going to be interesting for them to see what we look like.         

MediaBlvd> Why should kids be Jacob fans, instead of Edward fans?

Taylor> Edward? Who’s Edward? Is there an Edward character in the book? I’m just kidding. In the first movie, Jacob’s hot, but Jacob won’t live forever. You have people that say that it’s cool to live forever, but he’s more human-like than Edward. With the first movie, and the first book, you don’t really know much. You just know that he’s this really happy-go-lucky guy, who is just in love with Bella.

MediaBlvd> Are you looking forward to being a part of the merchandise for the film?

Taylor> I’ve had an action figure before, with Shark Boy and Lava Girl, and it was weird. They had action figures at McDonalds and Target. I have a couple saved because you never know if that will happen again. But, look how lucky I am!