By Fred Topel | Image property of Summit Entertainment
Twilight
The fan base for Twilight is so intense that every character has a following. Even the supporting parts like Laurent, a vampire who travels with the evil James, piques readers and viewers' interests. Actor Edi Gathegi was attracted to the part for reasons both complex and basic.
Edi Gathegi Supports Twilight
"I like the fact that my character isn't all bad, even though he's rolling around with the bad vampires," said Gathegi. "He's like a traditional vampire so he has to eat human beings to sustain himself but he actually warns the Cullens that James is evil so there's a different level there. And just secretly I've always wanted to play a vampire. I think that's kind of crazy, kind of cool. It's sort of embarrassing to say it but vampires are strong and fast and sexy. I don't see myself as a sexy person so I like to play a sexy vampire."
He also rocks some funky wardrobe with his chest bared in the dreary Midwest haze. You have to be mighty confident to make that look badass. "It was during the costume fitting when Catherine was putting the pieces together that we came to an agreement together. I don't think I would have went on set if I didn't feel comfortable."
Gathegi did his research beforehand too, reading the entire series of books Stephenie Meyer wrote. "I don't know if anybody knew what they were getting themselves into in terms of how big this was going to be, but I read the books when I found out I was being considered for the part. I loved the books and I thought this had the potential to be something big but I didn't know how big."
Now that he's traveled in public since news of the film got out, Gathegi has felt like a rock star. "Well, I didn't know what the concept of a fan was before Twilight. I didn't have any. Maybe there was a couple peppered in the online publications but now I go outside and people yell my name. That's something that I just never conceived of."
Fortunately, he expects to maintain his artistic independence with no worries of vampire typecasting. "My character's not all up and through the film as much as every other character so I don't think I'm going to be in danger of being identified as the dreadlocked vampire with the open shirt. I look different."
Twilight opens to theaters on November 21st.
For the trailers, posters, stills and more movie info, go to the Twilight Movie Page.
Twilight
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