Kristen Stewart Cringes at This Twilight Line Years Later
Kristen Stewart opens up about the Twilight line that still makes her squirm, sharing candid thoughts on her acting career and the hurdles she’s faced in the film industry.
Most actors have a few moments in their careers they’d rather forget, whether it’s a dodgy early role or a line that’s followed them around for years. Kristen Stewart is no different. She’s now known for her honesty and willingness to call things as she sees them, but it wasn’t always that way. Stewart first shot to fame thanks to a certain vampire romance series, and while she’s since become one of the most respected and adaptable performers of her generation, the shadow of that saga still lingers.
Stewart’s not shy about speaking up when it matters. Not long ago, she weighed in on the way method acting is viewed, especially the gendered side of it. She reckons acting is “embarrassing” by nature, and that’s why blokes are more likely to go all-in with method acting – it helps them get comfortable with being vulnerable on camera.
Taking On Hollywood’s Tough Side
She’s also been vocal about the tough realities of the film business, especially when it comes to getting projects off the ground. Stewart spent nearly ten years fighting to direct The Chronology of Water. She told The New York Times,
“Without being ungrateful, we need a workaround. Having it be so impossible for people to tell stories is capitalist hell, and it hates women and marginalised voices, and it’s racist. It’s too hard to make films right now that aren’t blockbuster-y, proven equations.”
That same honesty comes through when Stewart talks about her own work. Even though she’s moved well beyond her early days as a fresh face in the industry, the Twilight series is still the first thing many punters think of when her name comes up. The franchise has taken on a life of its own, and it’s not just Stewart who’s had mixed feelings about it. Robert Pattinson, her co-star, has been open about his own complicated relationship with the films, sometimes taking the mickey out of them, sometimes showing a bit of gratitude for the boost they gave his career.
The Line That Still Haunts Her
For Stewart, there’s one particular moment from those films that still makes her cringe. It’s not the whole experience, but a single line she had to deliver to Taylor Lautner in New Moon. On the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, she remembered the scene where her character, Bella Swan, was meant to comment on Jacob Black’s physique. Stewart said,
“There was this one line that I couldn’t deliver at all, which is so embarrassing because I was so embarrassed. The most embarrassing thing is to look at yourself be embarrassed. There was this thing I think where I was supposed to say to him, to Taylor, like something about his muscles or something. Where it was like ‘Hey Biceps.’ I think I was like ‘Hey. Hey, bi, bi, biceps.’ Oh God. And that’s in that film forever.”
It’s easy to see why she’d want to forget it. That moment has been immortalised not just in the film, but in countless memes and internet jokes. Lautner’s own infamous line, “Bella, where the hell have you been, loca?” and Pattinson’s “This is the skin of a killer, Bella,” have all become part of the pop culture landscape, for better or worse.
Living With the Legacy
Stewart’s discomfort is understandable, but she’s definitely not alone. Plenty of actors have had to live with lines or roles that make them wince in hindsight. The Twilight saga, for all its global success, has left its stars with a few moments they’d probably rather not revisit. Still, Stewart’s willingness to talk about it with a bit of humour and honesty is part of what’s made her such a standout in the industry today.