The Twilight films were a cultural phenomenon that redefined the YA vampire genre upon their release. The movies are beloved by those who watched them as teenagers, however behind-the-scenes, the cast wasn’t always having as much fun making the movies as Twilight fans were watching them. According to one Twilight actor, Robert Pattinson had some problems with the sparkly vampire makeup he had to wear while playing Edward, and it apparently wasn’t loved by the production team either.
In a recent Twilight panel conversation at Emerald City Comic Con ((via ScreenRant), Jackson Rathbone, who played Jasper Hale in the movies, revealed some behind-the-scenes details about filming Twilight. The actor explained that none of the performers or production team enjoyed bringing the sparkly-aspect of the vampires to life in the book-to-screen adaptation. Notably, Pattinson really did not like the makeup involved in the process, and Rathbone remembered a particular time when the movie star looked most annoyed about the whole thing. He explained
They would do all the Twilight sparkle testing, so every once in a while you would see Rob [Pattinson] come out of the makeup trailer completely pissed off and angry. Half his face is sparking super hard, the other half is a little sparkle. It’s like, ‘Mate, what’s going on?' It went from being rainy day to bright sunny day, which is actually even worse, because if it’s sunny they’ve got to make us sparkle. It was one of those things where the sun would come out, and we’d be like, ‘Yay!’ Except for production, ‘That’s screwing us even more!’
Whether or not Pattinson or anyone else liked the sparkly makeup, the cast and crew persevered and made vampires shimmer throughout five big screen Twilight movies. The detail was important, as it separates Twilight from other vampire-related lore in novels. The marble-like quality to the vampire skin is why the creatures in the fantasy saga are resistant to injury, and Stephanie Meyer explains this in great detail within her books. The shimmering contributes to the teen fantasy element of the franchise, even if the cast may have felt a bit silly.
It’s not really a surprise that the vampire shiny makeup would bother Pattinson, as he famously has been candid about his mixed experience while filming Twilight. He has admitted to almost being fired from the Meyer adaptation a number of times, and disliked the notion of being a part of a franchise. The scale of the endeavor was intimidating, and he was experiencing a loss of sense of self. He was a young actor at the time, and he has spoken about how important it was for him to be taken seriously. The shimmery vampire makeup likely didn’t help with his own acting desires within the Twilight saga, no matter how important the detail was to fans of the book series.
Even if it is important, it’s still easy to see how this could be frustrating for everyone involved. If it’s a dark dreary filming day, the cast and crew can rest easy knowing they are capturing the moodiness of the Twilight films canonically and nobody has to worry about the cast sparkling in the sunlight. Having to stop a filming day to ensure the vampires all sparkled must’ve been a real pain especially with such a large ensemble Twilight cast. While digital effects could help with some of the shine, makeup still was essential, and there really was no way around actually making the actors shimmer. The results are worth it, and the reveal of Pattinson’s Edward basking in the sunlight is one of the most memorable moments in the series.
You can revisit this moment and others by watching the Twilight movies, which are all available to rent on Amazon. If you, like Robert Pattinson, aren’t interested in your movie vampires sparkling, check out our feature on other vampire movies and where to watch them.
