Jackson Rathbone

While it’s true that these days, most people would agree that Robert Pattinson has more than done justice to the role of Edward Cullen, the initial reaction to his casting was not all positive. Who can forget the petition signed by over 70,000 to get rid of him? When I asked my twitter followers who they would want for Edward if they couldn’t have Rob, there was near revolt! My, my, how times have changed. But did you ever wonder who else was in line for the part?

Of course there were other finalists for the role. Rob was the last actor to audition. Catherine Hardwicke recently revealed the other top candidates were Jackson Rathbone, Ben Barnes and Shiloh Fernandez. I have to say, Jackson’s name was the one that most surprised me on that list. What if Jackson had been cast as Edward? How would Twilight have been different? What would the chemistry have been like?

(Side Note - What would Edward’s hair have been like? I think we must offer our thanks to Rob for refusing to wear the extensions that he spent eight hours having put in so that Edward would have the “long, timeless hair,” that Catherine had pictured. Wow, we seriously dodged a bullet there.)

Again, I went to my twitter followers, this time asking only if they could see Jackson as Edward. For a second time, I was surprised by the reaction. Jackson has a lot of fans in the Twilight world, one even referred to him as “the most beautiful thing on Earth.” While his acting abilities were not at all brought into question, only one person felt he could be Edward. It’s impossible to know if that’s because we’re all so used to Rob in the role, or we just don’t think Jackson was right for it. If the role had originally gone to Jackson, and for some reason he was now being replaced, would we welcome Rob to the role, or would pandemonium break out in the Twilight universe? Is it merely because we have seen Rob play Edward that the thought of anyone else being him is ridiculous?

I feel it’s safe to say that Twilight would not have been the same with different actors. We have come to love these characters even more through the people who have brought them to life for us on the big screen. Could Jackson have been Edward? I certainly would have enjoyed an Edward with those lovely dimples. But having said that, I think Catherine and Kristen made the right choice. Rob is my perfect Edward and Jackson is my perfect Jasper. I look forward to seeing more of Jackson as his role is fleshed out in the coming movies.

So now it’s your turn. Which actors do you think are cast perfectly? What is it about them that makes them just right? Who would you have cast differently? I cannot wait to hear your thoughts!