Interview: Peter Facinelli from Twilight

We had the honor of chatting with Peter Facinelli about his role in Twilight. Here’s what he had to say:

You played a character that was 350 years old, did that affect how you approached the character at all? Or did you even think about that?

Peter: That was my main concern. I related to him being a patriarch, because I have kids of my own. I got who he was as person through the books. My challenge was how do I bring 350 years plus onto the screen, so I did a lot of history research. I wanted to learn about the period he grew up in, and go through each decade where he might be and where his travels took him… to Italy, Chicago and all of those places in those times. I thought just having that knowledge might help. I felt that the way he moved and talked should reflect someone from a different period, so those were the things that I worked on.

Have you read all of the books?

Peter: I’ve read the first three. I’m working on the fourth one now.

Do you have a favorite?

Peter: You know, Twilight being the first one, because of the journey we went through with filming it, it’s the one that is still in my mind the most. I enjoyed all of them though. I think if I had to pick, I like the third, because it gives a lot of history from the family. It’s hard to say, because the second one was good as well.

What would you say to guys who might be reluctant to go see the film or read the books because they think it’s a girl movie?

Peter: You know I find with guys, it’s funny, because they don’t want to like it, or they go in thinking they won’t like it. Then in the end, they like it. Like when someone puts on a love song, and when no one is looking, the guy is singing that song at the top of his lungs (laughs). Then he gets caught and is like “What? I wasn’t… doing anything…”

I invited my brother in-law, Vincent, to come see the movie with my family. He was so reluctant to see this movie, because he thought that it was a love story. So he brought his iPod with him, and he was just going to listen to music for two hours. He was basically just coming, because I was in it. He ended up enjoying the movie so much; he kept poking my sister asking her what was going to happen.

So what I say to those guys, is don’t be close-minded, check it out. It does have a little something for everyone in it. It does have this love story and whether guys want to admit it or not, they’ll enjoy the love story. But it also has vampires and a little bit of action… it has a little bit of everything.

Has your oldest daughter seen the movie?

Peter: Yeah, she’s eleven. She read the book and was a fan of the book. I took her to see the movie before it was released. I took her to a screening, because I wanted to see what she thought. I knew she wouldn’t hold back on her answers. And after the screening, she said she loved it. I asked her if she was just saying that because dad was in it, and she said, “No dad, I really love it.”

So she was my witness test. I knew it was good when she said it was good.

Did you actually bite Rob? And was that weird at all for you?

Peter: I did sink my teeth into Robert, but it wasn’t weird. I was coming from a place of a vampire. It wasn’t like I was kissing his neck (laughs). Rob and I actually talked about that scene in particular. How it happened, and how it went down. I thought it was interesting to whisper something to him before, and in the movie they kept that… and then I bit him. And no one will ever know what I whispered to him which I thought was really cool. It’s between me and Rob.

Inside secret?

Peter: Yeah. I whispered sweet nothings in his ear. Then I bit him (laughs).

Have you heard anything from the studio about New Moon? Or is there anything you can tell us about it?

Peter: I haven’t. Right now, I’m just waiting for a script to see how close it is to the book. I thought they did a good job condensing the book into the movie in the first one.

Have they talked to you at all about the DVD yet? Will you be doing any commentaries, or is there anything you’d really like to see on the DVD? Like deleted scenes?

Peter: I don’t know. I know we shot a lot of behind-the-scenes footage. It might be fun for them to add that. They have tons of footage to put something together. But the movie just came out, so if we were talking about the DVD already, that would be a bad sign (laughs).

Well fans can’t wait for it! Everyone is already talking about what they would like to see.

Peter: Yeah (laughs).

I know that Robert has had a lot crazy fan experiences with the female fans thus far. I’m wondering what your craziest or most memorable fan experience has been?

Peter: I’ve always had really good experiences. I haven’t had anything too crazy. Fans have sent things in the mail. The Twilight Moms, which is a group of Twilight Moms, have sent some things. They’re fantastic. They sent me a basket with food, cookies, and gifts. It’s great.

I think with Carlisle, because he’s a father figure, they’re more respectful. I get the screaming fans once in a while. Other than that, it’s pretty good. Plus, Rob has it worse, because I look so different in the film with my blonde hair and pasty skin. I can walk down the street right now and get away with people not recognizing me. Rob, he can’t walk down the street right now.

Now speaking of the makeup process, can you talk a little bit about that process of becoming that pale?

Peter: It was an ionized airbrush. It was really interesting, because if they touched you while they were airbrushing it on you, it would shock you. You’d get a static charge. It was because this kind of makeup doesn’t cling to facial hair. It was actually a good tool for them, because if you go with straight airbrush then they might white out your eyebrows or it can get in your hair. It was this little tiny disc, battery operated thing that they got, I think from Japan, and it was just a little ionized airbrush gadget. It was pretty cool.

Have you visited any of the Twilight fansites?

Peter: I’ve done a bunch of fansite interviews. Sometimes I get a link to see how it all turned out, or I get an email to check them out. I’ve done a bunch of podcasts, so yeah I usually check them out. Even before when we were shooting the film, we would go to the sites and do some research on the characters and the fans and what they expected. Because you want to make sure you’re trying to meet all the expectations that the fans have.

What was your most memorable moment from shooting? Is it a scene, or maybe an onset joke?

Peter: I always go back to the baseball scene, because the baseball scene for me was the most fun. A lot of people enjoy watching it too. I grew up playing baseball. That was my sport, so it was fun to actually play vampire baseball. We shot that for four or five days.

Was that the scene you spent the longest on?

Peter: The end sequence we shot for about a week too. The fight scene with Rob and the burning of James… Everybody ripping James to pieces.

Peter Facinelli fans can check him out soon on Nurse Jackie with Edie Falco which will be airing on Showtime.

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Interview By: Emma Loggins