Peter Facinelli has vampire family ties with the Cullens in 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'

Elizabeth Reaser and Peter Facinelli

For the vampire Cullen clan in the "Twilight" series, family is what you make of it. Leading the clan (who are not biologically related to each other ) are Dr. Carlisle Cullen (played by Peter Facinelli) and his wife, Esme (played by Elizabeth Reaser), who are the adoptive parents of Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattinson); Rosalie Hale (played by Nikki Reed); Emmett Cullen (played by Kellan Lutz), Rosalie’s husband; Jasper Hale (played by Jackson Rathbone); and Alice Cullen (played by Ashley Greene), Jasper’s wife.

In "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" (the third movie in the series) the Cullens team up with a pack of werewolves to do battle against evil vampires who want to kill Bella Swan (played by Kristen Stewart), the human girlfriend of Edward. Facinelli, Reaser, Reed, Greene and Rathbone gathered for an "Eclipse" press conference in Los Angeles to share behind-the-scenes stories about the film and the "Twilight" phenomenon.

Peter, you were the "knight in shining armor" vampire in "Eclipse." How did you get around so quickly to save everybody?

Facinelli: Vampire speed. It’s interesting that you would say "knight in shining armor." It’s a matter of perspective, because I sometimes feel like my kids don’t appreciate me, my Cullen kids. If you look at it from our side, he saved them, but if you look at it from a different point of view, it was kind of a selfish act in the sense that they didn’t have a choice in the matter.

I know there’s at least two of them — I won’t name names — they’re having a difficult time with me having transformed them. As Carlisle, it is a difficult thing. He goes back and forth between saying, "Well, I tried to do something good there, but I’m not sure if I made the right decision because, again, they didn’t have a choice in the matter."

Peter Facinelli, Kellan Lutz and Jackson Rathbone in "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

Why would you recommend someone should go see "Eclipse," especially if that person isn’t a fan of the "Twilight" series?

Greene: I think because this one essentially has something for everyone, especially in "Eclipse," because the whole film is leading up to this battle. There’s a lot of action in this film. There’s a love triangle that’s been formed that only thickens in this one. You get a little bit of everything to heightened extremes.

Rathbone: Definitely. They told us that in the third film of the "Twilight" franchise that the guys would get to have a lot more action and a lot more visceral vampire action, which is one of those things I think people are really going to dig. It’s what makes part of the darker side of the myth of the vampire world more exciting. I think it’s going to explode on the screen nicely.

Reaser: I’m a fan of ["Eclipse" director] David Slade and I think it’s worth it just to see how dynamic what he’s done [is], from the very first moment with Xavier [Samuel]. Seeing all these new characters being introduced — Xavier and Bryce [Dallas Howard] who is not a new character, but a new actress and is so wonderful. You get to see their back stories. There’s so many amazing characters to follow that you can’t not get hooked, I think.

Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli and Elizabeth Reaser at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards in Universal City, California

Reed: It’s so hard when you’re the fourth in line answering that. I think it deals with universal topics, not only this really intense, "I would do anything, literally die for you," kind of love that I think we’ve all felt at one point or another. Also, young characters such as Bella, her insecurities and stuff.

With this film in particular, you get to learn a little bit more about some of the characters, like Rosalie and Jasper, [the characters that] the fans of the books know about. When you’re dealing with a screenplay, you really have to focus on what’s important, which is the love triangle. The rest of us feel like we’re screaming and clawing to show something.

Facinelli: I think that there’s a misconception with "Twilight" that it’s just for pre-teen and teenage girls and that guys won't go see it. When "New Moon" came out, it had more action and guys responded to that, although they didn’t really want to admit it. It’s kind of like guys driving around singing and listening to Barry Manilow in their car, belting it out loud and then someone pulls up next to them and they pretend like they’re not. Now, with Eclipse, the action has gotten even greater. For me, as a male, it’s my favorite book because I love the all the action.

Yet you still have this love triangle that’s heated up even more. It hits on a lot of different things. It has themes of vengeance, which is universal. You have themes of alliances being formed between two different families or covens or species or clans or mortal enemies that are teaming up for a common good, which I think is a great universal message.

With those universal messages out there, with a family that you can relate to in the sense that they’re bonded and joined up for a common good, with the action and with this love story, it’s got a lot of things going on for a lot of different people. I’ve had fans that are 6 years old up to 80. I’m hoping that they enjoy it. It’s my favorite book and I enjoyed it."

Nikki Reed and Kellan Lutz in "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

This is a family that rallies around one particular girl.

Reed: I hate it.

Why?

Reed: Actually, I think it says a lot about Rosalie that she’s willing to contribute. It’s really funny speaking from our characters perspective because we are such a family, and we actually all love each other and we don’t fight and that’s just the truth, as boring as it is. I think it says a lot that when it comes down to it the family is really willing to step up. Whatever makes us hesitant is put aside because we all come together. We are a family.

Reaser: Edward has been alone for so many years, so I think we all …

Reed: So what?

Facinelli: We just want him to be happy. As a family and as a unit, we just want him to be happy.

Reaser: We’re so isolated, even as a family. We have each other, but we’re very isolated and there’s only so much room for intimacy and connection in all of our lives. We all have a partner and Edward doesn’t. For him to find that partner after all these years, it’s as important to us as it is to him.

Rathbone: It’s got a "Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?" vibe. In a real family circumstance, you have your family members and relatives who bring someone to the table that maybe you don’t necessarily like or are confused by. Everyone reacts differently. Jasper wants to kill Bella. It’s his natural reaction … If your loved one loves something, you have to love it too. You have to support it. As much as it causes you pain, if it causes them love, it’s worth it.

Facinelli: I think everyone has had a family member that someone’s dating and you’re like, "OK, if that family member loves them, then I need to love them too." It’s another thing that’s relatable. I think of this whole thing like if you strip away the vampires, there’s a lot of human elements you can relate to. That being one of them.

Ashley Greene and Jackson Rathbone in "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"

With this huge appetite for all things "Twilight," would you be open to do things like spinoff movies with your own characters if Stephenie Meyer approved it?

Rathbone: [He says jokingly] "Twilight: The Musical"? I’ve got my tap-dancing shoes prepared.

Faicnelli: [He says jokingly] I’m starting a Web series: "The Chronicles of Carlisle."

Rathbone: "The Chronicles of Carlisle." That’s awesome! I think it it’s one of those things. As opportunities present themselves, we’ll be on board, and trying to figure it out with our schedules. What the "Twilight" franchise has done for us is amazing. We have so many fans and such a strong support system, that it’s a blessing. We keep going, day by day.

Facinelli: I think what’s fun for us, too, is that you meet the fans of the books and the fans of the movies. We’re fans as well. It’s kind of cool to be in something that I’m a fan of. I love the books, and I love those characters so much, so now being able to have a say in that character is, for me, pretty cool.

Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli and Robert Pattinson in "Twilight"

Did you feel that you had to stick to what was in the "Twilight" books to create your characters or have you been able to bring a little bit of yourselves to each of the roles?

Facinelli: I feel like it was our obligation to interpret that character. The books are definitely my starting point. I tried to add different things to make it my own. But definitely, I had my vision of who Carlisle was that I created from the books. That was always my bible for me of the character. But little things, like Carlisle adding the scarves. That wasn’t in the books.

I went to ["Twilight" director] Catherine Hardwicke and I said, "I’d like Carlisle to wear scarves because I think it’s something [he'd do]. With the scarves thing, I thought it might be something cool because it might be a piece of fashion that he’s taken throughout the years and it stayed with him. I always look at Carlisle like a gentleman, and I thought the scarf thing would make him appear a little more gentlemanly. Then I thought on a subconscious level, maybe he’s afraid of having his neck exposed. I thought, "Maybe he just doesn’t like having that neck exposed because he got bit there."

There’s this whole journey of the scarf. When it came to the third one, I said to David Slade, "Look, I like the scarves, but I don’t want them to become like Mickey Mouse ears where every time you see Carlisle he’s wearing the scarf." Especially going to battle with the scarf would’ve been silly, unless he started using it as a weapon. So I said, "Let’s lose the scarf, but let’s give it a purpose."

There’s a scene where I go to the werewolves and I ask for their help. At that point, I chose to take the scarf off. That’s me basically standing vulnerable in front of them, almost naked in Carlisle's mind, to ask them for help. From that point on, the scarf’s not there. Maybe in "Breaking Dawn" we’ll bring it back.

Robert Pattinson said he gets into character based on the contact lenses he has to wear.

Facinelli: We call them hub caps. It’s like having hub caps in your eyes because they’re really heavy, big discs.

Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene and Jackson Rathbone in "Twilight"

What gets you into character?

Facinelli: The scarf!

Reed: There’s such a physical transformation that I go through. I guess I can sort of agree with Rob, but I have to put on a wig. It takes quite a few hours. Even though I’m a bit tanner than the rest of these kids, it takes just as long because we all have to spray paint our entire bodies because none of us are as pale as a vampire. We get there at 4 o’clock in the morning. When you close your eyes and you lay back in this chair, four hours later you wake up and you actually are a different person.

Reaser: For me, the makeup is a huge part of the process. Also, being on location in these forests and with the weather, it’s like you’re dropped into the world. It’s so specific that it makes you feel different.

Rathbone: I just start with the boots. I put the boots on and get the walk right and I’m good. That’s all I need.

Greene: Yeah, agreed. Contacts and being sprayed. White makeup. I will also say it wasn’t necessarily planned, but Alice’s voice is a little higher than mine and she moves a little differently. That always helps - when you’re not moving like yourself and you’re not talking like yourself. That coupled with four hours in the chair, it definitely has an impact.

Then, being surrounded by a bunch of other vampires helps. We get into this certain mode and world. The affect you have on other people is funny. When you forget what you look like and you have these contacts in, there’s a little kid that’s walking around set and has never seen vampires walking around. They’re horrified.

Facinelli: We should all go to Starbucks after work, like go straight from the set to Starbucks to see if anyone picks up on it.

Peter Facinelli and Elizabeth Reaser in "Twilight"

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" will have another new director: Bill Condon. Can you talk about that?

Facinelli: I’m looking forward to working with Bill Condon. He’s phenomenal. I’m looking forward to hearing what his thoughts are on the series and the movie. It’s cool because all these different directors have these different interpretations. You don’t get complacent and sit back and go, "OK, I know these characters." They’re always asking you different questions and getting you to think deeper.

Peter, you work with different directors on "Nurse Jackie." Do jobs like that one make this film harder or easier?

Facinelli: I’m used to working with different directors, especially with doing that series, and I’ve done different shows like "Six Feet Under" and "Damages," where they have different directors all the time. I’m used to it. They do bring different energies to it.

If you look at "Twilight," Catherine [Hardwicke] had this great kinetic energy. She was like a cheerleader. She’d come in and have this infectious quality about her. I always joked with Chris [Weitz, director of "New Moon"] that he reminded me of Carlisle Cullen. He was cool as ice. He was a calming force. If things ran amuck, you’d look to Chris Weitz for the calm.

David Slade had a mixture of both. There’s a calming sense and then a sense of getting excited. I’m used to that. I don’t know if working with different directors makes it easier. It’s just different. It’s not easier or harder.

I actually shot "Eclipse" and the second season of "Nurse Jackie" at the same time. I’d be on a plane every couple of days flying from Vancouver to New York. People always say, "Well, did you get the lines confused?" They’re so distinct, those characters, that there’s no way of confusing them. For me, I love both of those characters. It’s fun being able to go from one world to a completely different world and shift those gears.

Peter Facinelli, Jackson Rathbone and Kellan Lutz in "The Twilight Saga: New Moon"

There’s a lot more interaction between the vampires and the werewolves in "Eclipse. "As actors, what are you actually reacting to in those special-effects scenes?

Rathbone: Oh my god, there’s a guy in a green suit. Or it was gray?

Reaser: I don’t know what you’re talking about. We had the cardboard cutouts.

Rathbone: There was some guy in a gray suit.

Reaser: Oh yeah!

Rathbone: We had to do whole monologues that way.

Facinelli: It was that and cardboard cutouts, which makes it a little difficult.

Rathbone: They’re like, "The wolf is going to be this big."

Facinelli: It’s harder to act when you’re acting off that, when you don’t have anything coming back at you.

Reed: Although, I don’t know if I’m supposed to be the one telling this story. I’m sure someone else will tell it later, but I do believe that Taylor [Lautner] didn’t want Kristen to act off of nothing.

Facinelli: Yes, that was very sweet of him.

Reed: So he came in like a full silver spandex suit. I thought that was very considerate of him.

Facinelli: He dressed up as one of the guys in the green suits with a gray sweatshirt for the green screen. She actually had to cuddle him, but she got to cuddle the real Jacob/Taylor Lautner, which is nice because he didn’t do that for us. That must’ve helped!

What was the battle sequence like for you having to fight with the werewolves?

Facinelli: The wolves were working beside us, so most of the fight sequences we did were with real stunt people — the bad vampires — which helped. They are so good at their jobs that they make us look good. We did fight training for six weeks and my daughter came down and she was watching one of the choreographed fights that I had. Then I had her do it. You have this 12-year-old girl throwing this stunt guy across the room. It was kind of fun to watch that. It makes it easier because they’re doing most of the work.