Hey Twilighters, Twilight Examiner (our Elte Affiliates) interviewed Edi Gathegi about New Moon. Check it out! -Liana- (via @Examiner)
In another Twilight Examiner exclusive, I had the pleasure of speaking
with Edi Gathegi, who plays Laurent in the upcoming The Twilight Saga:
New Moon! In this interview, Edi talks about his experience on the set
of New Moon, watching New Moon with Stephenie Meyer, and his take on
the Billy Burke/Robert Pattinson affair!
Are you excited for everyone to finally see New Moon?
Edi: I am! I’m very, very excited. I think it’s gonna be pretty
awesome. I talked to Taylor the other day, and he’s actualy seeing the
final cut right now as we speak. (Oct. 30th)
Have you seen that yet?
Edi: I saw it a month and a half ago, and now it’s the final cut. I didn’t see the final, final cut.
I spoke to Billy Burke a few days ago, and he said that the film came out beautifully.
Edi: Billy Burke is one of my favorite actors from that movie.
Billy also let me in
on the secret of him and Rob having an affair going on. It has been
amazing they’ve been able to keep it a secret.
Edi: [laughs] I knew about it! Yeah, I saw Rob trying to hypnotize Billy with his eyes. [laughs]
Had you ever heard of the series before auditioning?
Edi: No, I hadn’t. Before my audition, I didn’t know that the books
existed. As a matter of fact, I was so thrown off by the material that
I didn’t even really want to go to my audition. It was supernatural, so
I really didn’t have any interest in that. But when I got the part and
read the books, I was so glad that I went into my audition and did a
good job. Because it’s more than just a supernatural story. It’s a
romance, and it’s beautifully done, too.
Have you become a devoted fan of the books after getting the part?
Edi: I have, I have.
Which is your favorite book from the series?
Edi: I say this a lot. I love Twilight, because it’s the first book we
read that hooks us into the series. It’s the reason why we fall in love
with the entire Saga. It introduces the characters so well, and then
you start your journey. So..Twilight. For my character specifically, I
like New Moon.
Stephenie Meyer actually said you scared her in New Moon.
Edi: Yeah. Well it was sort of a joke. I told her that my goal would be to scare every 14-year old girl in the world....she laughed at
me. She was like “Edi, I’m sorry to break it to you, but you’re so
sweet and we know you and we love you. You have a baby face, so I don’t
think your going to scare anybody.” I think she was speaking mainly
from a place of knowing me personally. When she saw the movie, she
said, “Edi, I have to tell you, you got me. You were creepy, so
congratulations, I think you’ve got skill”.
Well, I can tell you personally from the trailer, you’ve definitely nailed the creepy look.
Edi: Yeah. I love the new look that they gave Laurent. The instant I
wore the super-red contacts and had my skin paled out, I just sort of
instantly transformed.
Were you shocked when you first saw yourself in full hair and makeup?
Edi: Yeah. For Twilight, yeah I was. It was such a huge transformation.
I liked it because if I buy myself as a different person, it’s easy for
me to commit to whatever the circumstances are. It really helps with my
psychological transformation. A lot of time I like trying to find out
what the character looks like, how they walk, what they sound like. And
then go to the emotion after that.
What is your favorite memory from the set?
Edi: Oh, there’s so many great memories. Um, my favorite
memory…..Working on the movie was priceless. It was one of the greatest
experiences of my career. I would have to say just the general cast
camaraderie. How everyone just gelled together, and really appreciated
each other, and I am really grateful to be a part of the magic. So I
would say most memorable moment was having dinners with the other cast
members.
You had no problem seeing Kristen as your prey? What did you do to get into that mindset of the character?
Edi: Oh yeah. Zero. I mean, when Chris yells “action”, Edi’s gone and
Laurent’s there. What Laurent wants to do, is he wants to eat Bella, so
that’s what I wanted to do. [laughs] The first thing that I thought to
myself is, “There’s nothing in this world that I cannot do. I’m
powerful, and I’m hungry right now. What I want to eat is standing
right in front of me.” [laughs]
What drew you to Laurent’s role?
Edi: I love playing bad guys. They are so fun, and there’s something
great about being able to be bad. Because I’m not that way at all. So
when I get to play those characters I get to have fun and do what can’t
be done. So I was going for that aspect of it, and I’ve never
understood vampires. I get them to some level, I just didn’t understand
them. But I’ve learned that vampires are sort of the best version of a
superhero. Not an actual hero, but another version of these characters
that we all wish we could be. To have super strength, super speed and
all of that. I learned that I get to play that all together, and that’s
awesome. It was really cool to get to play a vampire.
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