Kristen Stewart has admitted she was a pretentious little loser while filming the Twilight movie franchise alongside co-star Robert Pattinson.
The 36-year-old actress reflected on her role as Bella Swan during Thursday's episode of the In Your Dreams podcast hosted by Owen Thiele. Stewart explained that she and her fellow cast members took the production far too seriously during the early days of the global phenomenon.
Stewart played Bella Swan across five Twilight films that grossed around $3.3 billion at the worldwide box office. The fantasy romance series, based on the bestselling books by author Stephenie Meyer, catapulted its young stars into international fame. Discussing the making of the first film with Thiele, Stewart described the experience as tight but weird.
"The first one, we were talking about this earlier because someone else asked about it, but I was such a pretentious little loser trying to make it like the very best," Stewart expressed. "It was so, so serious."
The star recalled that both she and Pattinson, who starred as vampire Edward Cullen, shared an intense determination to turn the teen film into high art. Both actors were like, "Yeah, this is like f***ing [everything]. Let's try and elevate this s***," Stewart said. Looking back now, she laughed at their intense approach. "And it's like, 'Just be exactly what age you are and say the words.'"
Stewart added on the podcast episode that she and the rest of the cast, which included Taylor Lautner as werewolf Jacob Black, were all struggling with their own youth during production. "We were all kind of teenage about it," the actress explained. "It was always like, 'Oh my god, embarrassing. I just want it to be f***ing real and it's impossible. Everyone's like making it f***ing impossible for it to be like f***ing real.'"
Reflecting on the Franchise Over a Decade Later
More than ten years after the final installment, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, hit movie theaters in 2012, Stewart views her time on the franchise through a very different lens. "Then you look at it and you're like, 'It was f***ing real,' and kind of campy and sick," the actress said.
She explained that the dramatic style of the movies matched the intensity of being a teenager. "Anything like too much is so perfect for that period of time where you're not going to do subtle stuff when you're like a teenager dying. You know what I mean?" she asked.
Despite the overwhelming attention that followed the franchise, Stewart expressed during the conversation that she does not get annoyed when people ask her about Twilight. "It's really funny because it was like we did five of those movies, and it took five years, and then we've never stopped talking about it," she noted.
The actress explained that it was difficult to process the cultural impact of the movies while they were actively making them. "And during the time in which they were coming out, we were really always being asked to kind of look at it from the outside, which was not possible to do yet," Stewart said. "You know what I mean? Like, 'So, what do you think about this?' You're like, 'I'm just making the movies and everyone's like tripping. I don't know.'"
Open to Returning to the Twilight Universe
When asked on the podcast whether she would ever consider returning to the Twilight franchise, Stewart gave an enthusiastic response. "I would do it again," Stewart revealed, adding, "Yeah, I love it." Daily Mail reached out to representatives for Stewart for comment regarding her podcast remarks, but has yet to hear back.
The original Twilight movie was directed by filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke and released in November 2008. Made on a modest budget of $37 million, the film became a massive box office hit, raking in $412 million worldwide. Four more installments followed over the next four years, turning the franchise into a defining pop culture phenomenon of the late 2000s.
Her recent podcast comments follow statements Stewart made earlier this year in January, when she expressed interest in directing a Twilight reboot if the opportunity ever arose. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the actress praised the distinct artistic visions of the directors who shaped the original series.
"I would love, look. I love what Catherine [Hardwicke] did, I love what Chris [Weitz] did, I love what all of the directors did with the movies," Stewart told Entertainment Tonight. Weitz directed the second film in the series, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, in 2009.
"They were so themselves and weird and kind of like, squirrelly, and just so present in that time when they didn't really know what they were yet, like before they blew up," Stewart continued. "Imagine if we had like, a huge budget and a bunch of love and support," she added, before admitting that she would "love to readapt" the story. "Yeah, sure, I'll do the remake. I'm doing it! I'm committed!" she declared.
Robert Pattinson also Open to a Franchise Return
Stewart is not the only lead star from the original films who has expressed a willingness to revisit the vampire saga. Pattinson, who played brooding vampire Edward Cullen, also recently revealed whether he would step into the world of Twilight again.
During a lie detector video segment for Vanity Fair in November of last year, Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence asked Pattinson: "If they were gonna direct a new Twilight, would you do it?" The Odyssey actor replied without hesitation, "Oh yeah, for sure."
Pattinson jokingly added details about why he would take on the role again. "It'd be great. I like taking jobs of younger actors," the star quipped. "I wanna play 17 again."
Moving Behind the Camera and Latest Projects
Stewart is no stranger to directing and has gained substantial experience behind the camera in recent years. She previously wrote and directed short films such as Come Swim and Crickets before expanding into feature-length projects.
The star also directed the upcoming feature film titled The Chronology Of Water, which is scheduled for release in 2025. The project marks her feature film directorial debut, adapting Lidia Yuknavitch's acclaimed memoir.
Alongside her directorial work, Stewart continues to star in major film releases. Her most recent project is the stoner comedy feature film titled The Wrong Girls, in which she takes on a leading acting role.
The comedy film was released in theaters on August 14. The project holds a personal connection for Stewart, as it was written and directed by her wife, screenwriter Dylan Meyer, whom Stewart recently opened up about as being cool. The movie features a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Alia Shawkat, LaKeith Stanfield, Tony Hale, Zack Fox, Geena Davis, Kate McKinnon, and Kumail Nanjiani.
