Josh Peck says he could have been the one with "the skin of a killer, Bella."
In the latest episode of his podcast “Great Guys,” the former Nickelodeon star shared that he was once very close to nailing the role of teen vampire Edward Cullen in the 2009 "Twilight” movie.
During the 58th episode of his podcast, Peck spoke to guest Taylor Lautner, who played Jacob Black in the "Twilight" franchise.
“I remember it’s like 2006? 7? They’re like, ‘Audition for this movie “Twilight,” it’s based on a book, it’s going to be great,’” Peck recalled of his managers’ encouragement to try out for Edward Cullen in the film adaptation of the book by Stephenie Meyer. “I send in my tape... A month later, I’m with my manager, he goes, ‘It’s down to you and three guys. You’re close.’”
“I’m like, ‘Really?’ I hadn’t even had a tummy tuck yet, I’m like, there’s no way, he’s got to be so shirtless. It’s not going to happen,” the actor joked. “Spoiler alert didn’t get it. But I remember, and then seeing (Robert Pattinson) playing this part, I’m like, in what f---ing world were they like, they’re like, ‘Okay, here’s what we’re thinking. Chris Hemsworth or Stanley Tucci.’ Like, what the f---? Impossible. Impossible.”
Representatives for Peck, Lionsgate — which distributed the series — and “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke did not immediately respond to TODAY.com’s request for confirmation.
Robert Pattinson indeed portrayed Edward, the 104-year-old vampire who captivates the heart of protagonist Bella Swan (portrayed by Kristen Stewart) for all five of the franchise's films.
In 2021, Stewart spoke to The New Yorker about taking part in the audition process for the role of Edward when she'd already been cast as Bella Swan. In her interview, she recalled how Hardwicke had actors come to her Los Angeles home to read with Stewart and practice kissing.
“It was so clear who worked,” Stewart said of the decision to ultimately cast Robert Pattinson, who would later become her boyfriend. “I was literally just, like ...” and pantomimed swooning.
In his conversation with Lautner, Peck did not disclose whether he'd gotten far enough along in the audition process to meet Stewart.
Taylor Swift could have been in ‘Twilight’ too
In 2022, Variety reported that Taylor Swift once wanted to appear in the film’s sequel, “New Moon.” However, the film’s director, Chris Weitz, rejected her request through her agent.
“Taylor Swift was a huge Twi-hard, and Taylor Swift and I had the same agent at the time, and he said, ‘Taylor would like to be in this movie — not because of you, but she’s a Twi-hard,” Weitz said during an episode of “The Twilight Effect” podcast with Ashley Greene and Melanie Howe.
Weitz explained that he ultimately passed on the opportunity for fear that the singer would be too much of a distraction.
“The hardest thing for me was to be like, the moment that Taylor Swift walks onto the screen, for about five minutes, nobody is going to be able to process anything,” Weitz explained. “I kick myself for it too, because — I was like, wow, I could’ve been hanging out with Taylor Swift. She must have been like, ‘Who is this jerk?’ But sometimes you make decisions thinking this is for the best of the film.”
Stephenie Meyer wanted Henry Cavill to play Edward
“The Witcher” star Henry Cavill was also apparently close to “Twilight” fame. In 2022, during an episode of Josh Horowitz’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Cavill learned that the book’s author, Stephenie Meyer, had imagined him playing the part of Edward.
“I didn’t know about the movie,” Cavill explained then. “I didn’t know about them wanting to cast me, and the internet wasn’t quite the tool that it is now and, so yeah, I only found out afterward,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh, OK, that would have been cool.’”
