'Twilight' stars' early TV roles
'Twilight' stars' early TV roles - 'Twilight' stars' past TV roles. Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner all once suffered in less-than-stellar TV roles. The actors from "The Twilight Saga" are, without question, blood-sucking megastars of the silver screen, but prior to making the transformation to glitterati, these guys and dolls cut their acting fangs on television gigs just like any other up-and-coming thespians. For starters, sink your teeth into this: Before he moved to Forks and developed that mysterious golden-eyed disease, Robert Pattinson took to the skies as a mentally unstable pilot, and his gal pal, Kristen Stewart, hung out with mermaids. And that's just the tip of the Twihard TV iceberg. We've rounded up the "Twilight" stars' most noteworthy TV roles so you can trace how they went from small-screen unknowns to international matinee idols.
Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen): Shockingly, Robert Pattinson hasn't always wandered around shirtless and shiny. Before his stint in the "Twilight" series, he lent his talents to a handful of TV movies. These small-screen flicks may not be R-Patz's most shining moments, but, hey, his mere presence in them provides endless entertainment for fervent Twihards. Our favorite? His stint as a deranged Royal Air Force pilot in "The Haunted Airman" (2006). Watching this vamp-to-be wander around a mental institution in a sweater vest is almost as delicious as raw deer -- Edward's favorite snack! Also noteworthy: Robert's turn as a dorky surrogate baby-daddy in "The Bad Mother's Handbook" (2007) and his epic portrayal of Giselher the Pagan in "Curse of the Ring" (2004).
Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan): How under-the-radar is Kristen Stewart's TV career? If you're seeking her name in the credits, you won't have any luck. Kristen had a small role ("Girl in Fountain Line") in "The Thirteenth Year" (1999), a TV movie about a teen merman, and another as an announcer in 2008 on "The Sarah Silverman Program." Both were uncredited. Does that technically mean Kristen's TV career doesn't exist? One thing is for certain: Kristen's current occupation as the actress that tween girls most love to envy makes up for that practically blank "TV" space on her acting resumé.
Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black): Long before he was a swarthy werewolf (and a fervent admirer of an infant named Renesme), Taylor Lautner honed his acting skills on television. He began his rise to fame as "Boy on Beach" in "Summerland" (2004). After that, Taylor scored small gigs on "The Bernie Mac Show" (2003-2004) and "My Wife and Kids" (2004), and then landed a recurring role as superhunk Jack Spivey opposite Christian Slater on "My Own Worst Enemy" (2008).
Dakota Fanning (Jane): We get chills every time Dakota and her piercing red eyes glare at us from the screen during "Eclipse." Who would believe that before she was a blood-sucking vampire, Dakota was the most popular child actress in La La Land? And her specialty was portraying "little kid" versions of actresses in popular 1990s sitcoms. Dakota got her start in "Ally McBeal" (2000) as Little Ally and stole the spotlight as Little Ellen on "The Ellen Show" (2001). Once producers realized how adorable and sassy she was, they cast Dakota in almost every show on television, including "ER" (2000), "CSI" (2000), "Malcolm in the Middle" (2001), and "Friends" (2004).
Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen): Ashley's biggest break came when she scored the role of perky lady-vamp Alice Cullen in "The Twilight Saga," but she'd had lots of little breaks on TV. Ashley's first accredited role was as Ann Rappaport on "Crossing Jordan" (2006). It wasn't long before she landed in the sexy stilettos of Renata on MyNetworkTV's hot n' heavy (but short-lived) drama, "Desire" (2006). After all that soapy fun, Ashley moved on to a guest-starring appearance as Natalie Faber on CBS's "Shark" (2008) and, later that year, made her theatrical debut as Alice Cullen -- and she hasn't returned to the small screen since.
Nikki Reed (Rosalie Hale): Though Nikki Reed is accustomed, at this point, to lurking in shadowy corners to hide her bedazzled skin and pointy fangs, she had her day in the bright California sunshine on "The O.C." back in 2006. Nikki played Ryan Atwood's jewelry-making girlfriend, Sadie Campbell. Nikki's short-lived visit (six episodes) to Orange County seems like an eternity compared to her one-episode appearance on Fox's canceled 2006 legal drama "Justice," as well as her never-seen stint as Andi on The CW's "Reaper" (2007); Nikki was supposed to play Sam the Bounty Hunter's sweet-as-pie girlfriend, but she was replaced by Missy Peregrym in the pilot. Something tells us she's moved on.
Jackson Rathbone (Jasper Hale): Nikki Reed isn't the only fang-tastic actor who enjoys fun in the sun! Jackson Rathbone also served time on "The O.C." in 2006 as Caitlin Cooper's cagey lover-boy, Jason. After swooping this lucky lady off her feet, Jackson scored a recurring role as Nicholas Fiske in ABC Family's "Beautiful People" (2006). But our love affair with Jackson really began when he guest-starred as Adam Jackson, the cross-dressing serial killer on CBS's "Criminal Minds" (2009). It's hard to decide whether we love Adam or his alternate personality, Amanda, more. Now that he's a world-famous dreamboat, Jackson can sink his incisors into any role (or medium) he wants. He recently filmed a Web series called "Aim High" (2011), where he plays a high-school detective by day and a government agent by night. Mysterious.
Kellan Lutz (Emmet Cullen): Kellan Lutz is beefy, built, bold, and beautiful -- and his TV rap sheet is even bigger than his biceps. In fact, if you turn on the tube right now, there's a 95 percent chance you'll see his handsome mug. Kellan got his start in daytime television with a guest appearance on "The Bold and the Beautiful" in 2004. Before you could say, "I love you and want to bite you," he nabbed a recurring role in Lisa Kudrow's HBO comedy, "The Comeback" (2005), as surfer-bro/actor Chris MacNess. Kellan then scored another major part as Cpl. Jason Lilly in HBO's mini-series "Generation Kill" (2008). If you're thinking, "What's with all the HBO?" we're here to tell you that Kellan didn't confine himself to just premium cable. The same year he made his debut as Emmet Cullen in "Twilight", Kellan starred as George Evans on The CW's "90210" (2008-2009).
Anna Kendrick (Jessica): Even Oscar nominees have to start somewhere. Though Anna Kendrick's resumé is littered with starring roles in hit movies, she too has tried her hand at television. Like Kristen Stewart, her experience on the small screen has been limited -- just three appearances. First, Anna appeared in a TV movie called "The Mayor" (2003). Four years later, Anna played Holly in CBS's short-lived critical failure "Viva Laughlin" (2007), a musical dramedy/murder mystery about a casino owner. In 2009, Anna recovered from "Viva" as teenage ghost-whisperer Shelby in NBC's cult-horror series "Fear Itself," in which she wandered around with a homemade Ouija board and tried not to get herself killed.
Elizabeth Reaser (Esme Cullen): Elizabeth Reaser is best known as mama-vamp Esme Cullen -- but she also played Serena Whitfield and Jillian Slaughter on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2002, 2006). Oh, and Jane Doe, Rebecca Pope, and Ava on "Grey's Anatomy" (2007-2008). Yep -- three parts, one show. She's just that good. More recently, however, Elizabeth won the starring role in the CBS dramedy "The Ex List" (2008) in which she played a woman who, after being told by a psychic that she's already dated her future husband, seeks out her former flames. While that show fizzled out due to disappointing ratings, Elizabeth was able to land a recurring role on another CBS show, Emmy-winning "The Good Wife" (2010-2011). But way back in 1998, Elizabeth played the part of Molly on something called "Shaquille O'Neal's Sport Theater." Well, you've got to start somewhere. She followed that up with a one-episode appearance as Stace on "The Sopranos" in 2000.
Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen): Name a show, and we'll bet cold, hard cash that Peter Facinelli's porcelain mug has been on it. It makes sense; he's been alive for hundreds of years, right? After landing a guest-starring role as Shane Sutter on "Law & Order" (1995) and some work in various TV movies, Peter switched over to the big screen and concentrated on making movies. He returned to television a few years later as embittered cop Donovan "Van" Ray in Fox's "Fastlane" (2002-2003). After bailing on the police, Peter moved over to HBO, starring as Jimmy on "Six Feet Under" (2004-2005) and then, after more TV movies, landed a gig on Glenn Close's critically acclaimed cable drama "Damages" as Gregory Maline in 2007. So, what's Peter up to these days? He's trolling the E.R. as laid-back Dr. Fitch Cooper on Showtime's "Nurse Jackie" (2009-2011). So that's how he knew how to fix Bella's sprained arm.
With what may be the longest TV resume of all of "The Twilight Saga" stars, Billy Burke has been popping up in various roles on the small screen since 1994, when he appeared in an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Early in his career, he could be seen in anything from Margaret Cho's quickly-canceled sitcom "All-American Girl" (1995) to Fox's tear-jerking family drama "Party of Five" (1994, 1996). In 2003, he captured the hearts of "Gilmore Girls" fans as Lorelai's coffee-loving boyfriend, Alex Lesman, and, at the same time, was hard at work on seven episodes of "24" (2002-2003). Billy later made guest appearances on "Monk" (2004), "Law & Order" (2007), and J.J. Abrams's sci-fi drama "Fringe" (2008). Since "Twilight's" premiere back in 2008, Billy has guest-starred on Kyra Sedgwick's super-popular procedural "The Closer" (2009), appeared in a handful of episodes of "My Boys" (2008-2009), and had a short-lived role as Special Agent Gabriel Dean on TNT's "Rizzoli & Isles" (2010-2011).
via: yahoo
