'Twilight' cast: Where are they now? (original) (raw)

Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan)

Bella Swan; Kristen Stewart. Peter Sorel/SUMMIT; Venturelli/WireImage

Before she was Bella Swan, Kristen Stewart was a child actress, most notably playing the young daughter of Jodie Foster's character in 2002's Panic Room. As a teenager, her credits included Speak (2004), Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), In the Land of Women (2007), and Into the Wild (2007).

After the Twilight series concluded, Stewart told EW that the prom was her favorite scene in any of the movies. ”This is number one on my list for a reason,” Stewart said. ”I remember stepping on Rob’s feet in my sneakers, and we listened to that song [‘Flightless Bird, American Mouth’ by Iron & Wine] all night. It was the end of the shoot, and we were all so close and not wanting to go home yet. That’s the one scene I look at and always start crying. And I’m not a bit embarrassed about it.”

Since becoming one of the most bankable stars in the world at age 18, she's parlayed her mega-fame into freedom when choosing roles. While one of her first post-Twilight parts was the title princess in another big-budget romance, 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman,Stewart eventually gravitated more toward indie and art-house projects, including 2014's Still Alice and Clouds of Sils Maria (for which she became the first American actress to win a César award); 2015's American Ultra; 2016's Certain Women, Café Society, Personal Shopper, and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk; and 2018's Lizzie. Stewart has continued to lead films, such as Charlie's Angels (2019), Underwater (2020), and Happiest Season (2020), and went on to earn her first Oscar nomination for playing Princess Diana in Pablo Larraín's 2021 biopic/fable, Spencer.

While Stewart is engaged to screenwriter Dylan Meyer, she briefly had a relationship with Pattinson in the years after Twilight.

Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen)

Edward Cullen; Robert Pattinson. Deana Newcomb/SUMMIT; George Pimentel/WireImage

Robert Pattinson's career first took off when he was cast as handsome Hufflepuff Cedric Diggory in 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. When he landed the role of the sensitive, sparkly forever-teenage vampire Edward Cullen, however, he was launched to a whole new level of superstardom.

Not long after the final film was released, Pattinson told EW there was one thing he wouldn't miss about the Twilight movies: the contact lenses. “My God, I’ll be glad to see the last of those,” he said. “I actually want to get some kind of plastic explosive. I want to reanimate them into something so I can kill them. It’s so embarrassing for me — after so many years, it’s still a process every single morning. Everybody else has figured out how to do it, and then there’s two people holding me down because I can’t do it myself.”

Since the Twilight saga ended with 2012's Breaking Dawn — Part 2, Pattinson, like Stewart, has developed his art-house résumé by taking on roles in a variety of indie and auteur projects, including David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis (2012) and Maps to the Stars (2014), Werner Herzog's Queen of the Desert (2015), James Gray's The Lost City of Z (2016), Josh and Benny Safdie's Good Time (2017), Claire Denis' High Life (2018), and Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse (2019). He returned to blockbuster filmmaking with Christopher Nolan's Tenet (2020) and as the titular Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves' The Batman (2022).

Pattinson and actor-musician Suki Waterhouse got engaged in 2023 after having been linked since 2018. They welcomed their first child in March 2024.

Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black)

Jacob Black; Taylor Lautner. Deana Newcomb; Tara Ziemba/Getty Images

Before playing Jacob Black, the blossoming werewolf and third player in _Twilight'_s central love triangle, Taylor Lautner's résumé included 2005's The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D and Cheaper by the Dozen 2, as well as a handful of TV credits.

Post-Twilight, he has mostly stepped away from the spotlight, popping up in a handful of projects such as 2015's The Ridiculous Six and on the TV series Cuckoo and Scream Queens. Lautner returned to film after a six-year hiatus to star opposite Kevin James in the 2022 Netflix football comedy Home Team.

While Lautner has had high-profile romances with stars like Taylor Swift, Lily Collins, and his Scream Queens costar Billie Lourd, he married Taylor Dome, a nurse, in 2018.

In 2023, the actor went on The Toast podcast with his wife to talk about how he was personally affected by the "Team Edward vs. Team Jacob" phenomenon. "There wasn't a competitiveness between me and Rob," Lautner said, "but having that constant reminder, it definitely had an impact." However, with the distance of time, he understands why some fans sided with Edward. "As I was watching it, I was like, 'I kind of get it. Jacob's a little annoying,'" he said. "Like, I love Jacob and his heart, but he's a little annoying."

Kellan Lutz (Emmett Cullen)

Emmett Cullen; Kellan Lutz. Peter Sorel/SUMMIT; Michael Tran/FilmMagic

After a handful of TV appearances, Kellan Lutz landed his first film credits in 2006 with the teen comedies Stick It and Accepted before getting his breakout role as Emmett Cullen.

Since playing Edward's brother — the scariest, most fun-loving vamp in the family — many of Lutz's film roles have been in action movies (Emmett would be so proud), including 2011's Immortals; 2013's Java Heat; 2014's The Legend of Hercules, The Expendables 3, and Extraction; and 2018's 7 Guardians of the Tomb. He has also appeared on all three of CBS' FBI series as Special Agent Kenny Crosby and Netflix's Adi Shankar's The Guardians of Justice (Will Save You!) as King Tsunami.

Lutz married TV host and model Britany Gonzales married in 2017. They have two children together.

In 2022, Lutz appeared on Ashley Greene's The Twilight Effect podcast and said he was surprised he never dated costar Nikki Reed. "I really fell in love with her as a human being in Breaking Dawn because we just had so much time to talk and she's really, really special, has such a kind heart," he said. "I'm actually kind of surprised her and I didn't date throughout all this."

Nikki Reed (Rosalie Hale)

Rosalie Hale; Nikki Reed. Peter Sorel/SUMMIT; Daniel Boczarski/WireImage

Nikki Reed picked up her first film credit when she starred in 2003's Thirteen, which she co-wrote with director Catherine Hardwicke — who later cast Reed as the striking but cold Rosalie Hale in the first Twilight film.

The actress says the series' baseball scene was the most memorable moment on set. "That was the intro to Twilight for us. That was the first scene we ever shot," she told MTV in 2013. "Catherine [Hardwicke], the director on the first one, she has the ability to invest herself very thoroughly in the process of each character, so for the baseball scene, I think we were all in baseball camp for weeks, and I was learning to hit the baseball just right, and it was so gnarly, just getting this one scene right that ended up being two-and-a-half minutes in the film."

Since Reed's last performance as Rosalie, she has had roles in the films Pawn (2013), Balls Out (2014), and In Your Eyes (2014), among others, and played Betsy Ross in the third season of Sleepy Hollow. Reed is also a musician, and, in 2012, released an EP, The Best Part, with then-husband Paul McDonald. She returned to the vampire world with a recurring role on the short-lived Netflix series V-Wars, which starred her husband, Ian Somerhalder — who also played another vampire on The Vampire Diaries.

Reed and Somerhalder wed in 2015 and have two kids.

Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen)

Alice Cullen; Ashley Greene. Deana Newcomb/SUMMIT; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Though she had a few film and TV credits under her belt when she joined the cast of Twilight, Ashley Greene got her breakout moment when she earned the part of clairvoyant vampire Alice Cullen.

Asked how Twilight changed her career in 2009, Greene told EW, "I didn’t really have a career! So that’s how it changed. But now I’m doing what I want and I know I’m going to continue to work. This is it; this is the rest of my life. I can walk into rooms and talk to directors and producers that I couldn’t get into their doors before. And I can actually sit down and speak to them like a human being and not be terrified of them."

After the saga wrapped, she had a recurring role on the police drama Rogue and appeared in the films CBGB (2013), Wish I Was Here (2014), Burying the Ex (2014), Staten Island Summer (2015), In Dubious Battle (2016), Bombshell (2019), Aftermath (2021), and Wrong Place (2022), among others.

In 2022, Greene started a Twilight podcast titled The Twilight Effect, where she and her cohost, Melanie Howe, analyzed the films, held exclusive interviews with multiple cast members, and invited fans of the franchise to ask questions.

Greene married Australian TV personality Paul Khoury in 2018 and they have one daughter together, who was born in 2022.

Jackson Rathbone (Jasper Hale)

Jasper Hale; Jackson Rathbone. Peter Sorel/SUMMIT; Jennifer Lourie/Getty Images

Before he was Confederate soldier–turned–vegetarian vampire Jasper Hale, Jackson Rathbone made his big-screen debut in 2005's River's End; appeared in episodes of The O.C. and The War at Home; and had a major role on the short-lived drama series Beautiful People.

“The last day of filming was bittersweet, it was surreal,” Rathbone told EW of his final day on set. “It was about three in the morning. It was wet, it was very, very cold. When they called wrap, the core Cullen clan was there and we just all kind of looked at each other and were like, ‘Man!’”

In the years since Breaking Dawn — Part 2, he has had roles on the series Aim High, Finding Carter, and The Last Ship, and in the films City of Dead Men (2014), Pali Road (2016), Until We Meet Again (2022), and Condor's Nest (2023), among other credits.

Rathbone married Sheila Hafsadi in 2013. The couple have three children together. Nikki Reed is the godmother of their oldest son.

Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen)

Carlisle Cullen; Peter Facinelli. Peter Sorel/SUMMIT; Tara Ziemba/Getty Images

When Peter Facinelli was cast as Cullen patriarch Carlisle, he was best known for starring in 1998's Can't Hardly Wait; minor roles in the films Riding in Cars With Boys (2001) and The Scorpion King (2002); and parts on the short-lived series Fastlane, as well as Six Feet Under and Damages.

After not getting the Twilight role initially, Facinelli found a book called 50 Years of Vampire-Making in Hollywood and mailed it with a note to director Catherine Hardwick. "Little did I know that the actor that fell out, on the same day that he fell out, she got my book," he told the On the List podcast. “And so the producers were like, he can't do it, either his deal fell through or maybe he got another job or something, and they said who do you want to go to next? And she was like, 'I don't know, what about Peter Facinelli?' So I always joke with Catherine that I bought that role for $29.99.”

Post-Twilight, he had a main role on Nurse Jackie and made appearances on Glee, Supergirl, S.W.A.T., Magnum P.I., and Roar. On the big screen, Facinelli had parts in The Wilde Wedding (2017), The F**k-It List (2020), Catch the Bullet (2021), and God Save the Queens (2022).

Facinelli married actress Jennie Garth in 2001. They had three daughters together before divorcing in 2013. He also had a romance with actress Jaimie Alexander before becoming engaged to Lily Anne Harrison in 2020. They had a son together in 2022.

Elizabeth Reaser (Esme Cullen)

Esme Cullen; Elizabeth Reaser. Peter Sorel/SUMMIT; Rob Kim/Getty Images

Before she played Edward's adoptive mother, Esme Cullen, Elizabeth Reaser's list of credits included the films Sweet Land (2005), The Family Stone (2005), and Puccini for Beginners (2006), among others, as well as an Emmy-nominated recurring role on Grey's Anatomy and a starring role on the short-lived medical drama Saved.

Reaser told EW in 2010 that she never expected to be in an action movie, as the third Twilight film — Eclipse — ended up being for her, and it wasn't always fun. "[Peter Facinelli and I] both do some intensely violent things, which was pretty scary. And I didn’t enjoy that stuff," she said. "I realized I don’t like pretending to hit people because it kind of makes me feel bad, like what if I hit them [for real]? What if I get nervous? And so the director was like, ‘You’re not getting mad.’ He tried to piss me off and it worked. [Laughs] He started yelling things at me off-camera to genuinely make me mad. So then I got really mad and he was like, ‘Yeah!’ It was a weird thing but a great tactic on his part."

After hanging up her (vegetarian) vampire fangs, Reaser appeared in many films, including Liberal Arts (2012), Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015), and Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), as well as the 2018 miniseries The Haunting of Hill House; episodes of Easy, True Detective, The Handmaid's Tale, and American Crime Story; and in her memorable gig as the controversial "Diana the Waitress" in the final season of Mad Men.

In April 2024, Reaser told Vogue that she had quietly married Bruce Gilbert in 2023.

Billy Burke (Charlie Swan)

Charlie Swan; Billy Burke. Deana Newcomb/SUMMIT; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Billy Burke had racked up dozens of film and TV credits before he was cast as Charlie Swan, Bella's perpetually worried father. (Can you blame him?)

Burke told MTV in 2008 about the strange way he met costar Kristen Stewart for the first time on a plane to Portland. "She didn't know who I was, but I recognized her and I went up to her and said, 'Hey, I'm your dad!' I think she thought that was entirely creepy," he said. "From that point on, we got along really well. She and I work the same way. We do what we do and kind of get out of the way and let it happen. On set, there were a number of times when, if we were having difficulty with something, we could take solace in the other. I think she's wildly talented."

Since leaving Forks, he has had roles in the films Angels in Stardust (2013) and Lights Out (2016), as well as small turns on The Closer, Rizzoli & Isles, and Chicago P.D., and larger parts on Revolution, Zoo, Maid, 9-1-1: Lone Star, and Fire Country.

Burke was married to actress Pollyanna Rose until 2017. They have a daughter together.

Sarah Clarke (Renée Dwyer)

Renée Dwyer; Sarah Clarke. Summit: Greg Doherty/Getty Images

Bella's mother, Renée, is played by Sarah Clarke, whose résumé at the time included episodes of Sex and the City, Ed, Las Vegas, and 24, as well as the films Thirteen and Happy Endings (2005).

As the Twilight series was concluding, Clarke told Global News that she didn't approve of everything about the love story. "It's brought an innocence in some ways back to love in that there's a reason why you can't consummate it and you can't be together right away," she said. "But I don't know, there are a lot of things about the relationship that I don't find ideal. As a mother, I would want to talk through a lot of things."

Post-Twilight, Clarke appeared on Nikita and NCIS; had recurring roles on Covert Affairs and The Tomorrow People; and was part of the main cast of Bosch. She also had a small role as Tanya in the Oscar-winning film CODA (2021) and a main role in the award-winning Alchemy of the Spirit (2022).

Clarke met her husband, Xander Berkeley, on the set of 24. They married in 2022 and have two daughters together.

Gil Birmingham (Billy Black)

Billy Black; Gil Birmingham. Deana Newcomb; David Livingston/Getty Images

When Gil Birmingham was cast as Billy Black, Jacob's father and Quileute council member, his long list of credits already included appearances on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Charmed, and Veronica Mars, as well as roles in the films Skins (2002) and End of the Spear (2005).

Since the Twilight saga came to an end, he has appeared in The Lone Ranger (2013), Best Picture nominee Hell or High Water (2016), and Wind River (2017), as well as the TV series Banshee, House of Cards, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Animal Kingdom, Yellowstone,and the miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven.

Asked in 2021 if he learned anything while shooting Twilight that impacted his career, Birmingham told Looper, "Don't bank on your career skyrocketing from a single project. I mean, it was really fun and I'm really glad to be part of pop culture now. There were a lot of moving parts in that, as well. But it was primarily centered on the vampires. So, I think the [Native American] representation was a little less than I might have hoped for, as there was even more so in the books."

Cam Gigandet (James)

James; Cam Gigandet. Peter Sorel/SUMMIT; Desiree Stone/Getty Images

Before he was cast as the evil vampire James, Cam Gigandet had taken on recurring roles on The O.C. and The Young and the Restless, among other TV and film appearances.

Since saying goodbye to Twilight (after James' fiery demise at the end of the first movie), his film credits include Easy A (2010), Burlesque (2010), The Roommate (2011), In the Blood (2014), The Magnificent Seven (2016), Without Remorse (2021), and Violent Night (2022).

In 2010, Gigandet told EW he wasn't disappointed that his Twilight character didn't survive until later in the series. "Obviously, there are a million benefits to staying on," he said. "But for me, doing the same thing over and over — I get bored very quickly and end up restless."

Gigandet has three children with his ex-wife, Dominique Geisendorff. They were married from 2008 to 2022.

Rachelle Lefevre (Victoria)

Victoria; Rechelle Lefevre. Peter Sorel/SUMMIT; Rich Polk/Getty Images

Twilight villain Victoria was played by Bryce Dallas Howard in Eclipse (2010), but Rachelle Lefevre originated the role in the saga's first two films. Before she sought bloody vamp revenge against Edward and Bella, Lefevre's credits included the films Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Head in the Clouds (2004), and Fugitive Pieces (2007), as well as appearances on the shows Charmed, Bones, and Veronica Mars, among others.

"I was stunned by Summit's decision to recast the role of Victoria for Eclipse," Lefevre told EW in a 2009 statement after learning she'd been recast for Eclipse. "I am greatly saddened that I will not get to complete my portrayal of Victoria for the Twilight audience. This is a story, a theatrical journey and a character that I truly love and about which I am very passionate. I will be forever grateful to the fan support and loyalty I've received since being cast for this role, and I am hurt deeply by Summit's surprising decision to move on without me.”

Since her final Twilight Saga appearance in 2009's New Moon, Lefevre has appeared in the movies Barney's Version (2010), Casino Jack (2010), Homefront (2013), White House Down (2013), and Hollow in the Land (2017), and on the series A Gifted Man, Under the Dome, Proven Innocent, and The Sounds.

Lefevre and her husband Chris Crary have two children.

Edi Gathegi (Laurent)

Laurent; Edi Gathegi. Peter Sorel/SUMMIT; Todd Williamson/Getty Images

Edi Gathegi made his big-screen debut in 2006's Crank, which he followed up with 2007's Gone Baby Gone, Death Sentence, and a recurring role on House, before joining the cast of Twilight as the vampire Laurent.

"I think that different actors go about their preparation differently, but when it comes to acting, I use my imagination," Gathegi told Vanity Fair about his preparation for the role in 2008. "I have found that because I am generally a happy person, it is kind of fun for me to explore that darker side. Villains are fun to play."

Since his character's final appearance in 2011's Breaking Dawn — Part 1, he has had roles in the films X-Men: First Class (2011), Aloha (2015), Criminal Activities (2015), and The Harder They Fall (2021), and appeared on the series Beauty and the Beast, Justified, The Blacklist, StartUp, Briarpatch, and For All Mankind.

Gathegi married Romanian actress Adriana Marinescu in 2018.

Anna Kendrick (Jessica Stanley)

Jessica Stanley; Anna Kendrick. SUMMIT; D Dipasupil/Getty Images

A stage veteran and Tony nominee at the age of 12, Anna Kendrick was at the very beginning of her onscreen career when she was cast as Bella's classmate Jessica Stanley in Twilight, having previously completed just a few credits, including the 2003 teen indie Camp.

Asked what the saga did for her career, Kendrick told EW in 2009, "Obviously, [_Twilight_] is the most visible thing that I’ve really done, but both Up in the Air and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, I got because of a teeny film called Rocket Science. Both of those directors asked to meet with me because of that film. It’s strange because on the one hand, most people who approach me and know who I am and want to talk to me know me from Twilight, but most filmmakers don’t.”

In the years since she first went to Forks, she has climbed the Hollywood ranks, and her long list of film credits includes Up in the Air (2009) — for which she received an Oscar nomination — 50/50 (2011), End of Watch (2012), the Pitch Perfect films (2013–2017), Drinking Buddies (2013), The Last Five Years (2014), Into the Woods (2014), Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016), A Simple Favor (2018), and Noelle (2019). She also lent her voice to the Trolls franchise and starred in the first season of HBO Max's Love Life. In 2022, Kendrick starred in the psychological thriller Alice, Darling and made her directorial debut with 2023's Woman of the Hour.

Kendrick has had high-profile relationships with director Edgar Wright, cinematographer Ben Richardson, and SNL alum Bill Hader.

Michael Welch (Mike Newton)

Mike Newton; Michael Welch. SUMMIT;Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic

Michael Welch had been a celebrated actor for a decade when he was cast as sweet Mike Newton, Bella's classmate with an unrequited crush. His first credit came in a 1998 episode of Frasier, and he would appear on many more series in the late '90s and early 2000s, including The X-Files and Malcolm in the Middle. He also had a main role on Joan of Arcadia and appeared in the 2006 film All the Boys Love Mandy Lane before joining the cast of Twilight.

"I did bring a lot of myself into the Mike Newton character, particularly in the first film," Welch told MLive in 2010, discussing his character's evolution. "I really tried to tap into my high school wacky self and then at this point Mike Newton has kind of taken on a life of his own. And by the third film, it's interesting because so much of what defines Mike Newton is how he feels about Bella and his way in which he pursues Bella. I think he's finally come to the conclusion that he and Bella will probably not work out. He probably realized that competing with Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner is not going to lead him anywhere."

Since his time pining for Bella, Welch has appeared in episodes of Grimm, NCIS: New Orleans, Scandal, Lucifer, Another Period, Station 19, and Quantum Leap, as well as a lead role on Z Nation.

Welch married his second wife, model Samantha Maggio, in 2016. He has two children.

Justin Chon (Eric Yorkie)

Eric Yorkie; Justin Chon. SUMMIT; Matthew Eisman/Getty Images

Before playing Eric Yorkie, another one of Bella's unfortunate human admirers, Justin Chon had collected a handful of film and TV credits, including a main role on the TeenNick series Just Jordan.

Since saying goodbye to Twilight, Chon's TV résumé includes episodes of House and New Girl and a recurring role on Dr. Ken.

Chon told Looper in 2021 that he learned a lot during his time shooting Twilight. "What I did learn was what mattered to me in storytelling, what mattered to me in the career I wanted to have — being rich and famous ... all that stuff didn't feel like it'd be as fulfilling," he said. "Watching from the periphery, I realized a sense of purpose in serving others through filmmaking is something that I felt would probably be much more fulfilling in the long run."

He made his feature directorial debut with 2015's Man Up, and his second feature, Gook (which he also wrote, produced, and starred in), debuted at Sundance in 2017 and won the festival's Best of NEXT Audience Award. He directed and starred opposite Alicia Vikander in Blue Bayou (2021) and helmed multiple episodes of the Apple TV+ drama series Pachinko.

Chon has two children with his wife, Sasha Egorova.