Meyer was "excited" and "ecstatic" in response to the casting of the two main characters. She had expressed interest in having Emily Browning and Henry Cavill cast as Bella and Edward, respectively, prior to pre-production. Henry Cavill, Meyer's original choice for Edward, turned down the role of Carlisle. Peter Facinelli was not originally cast as Carlisle Cullen. "[Hardwicke] liked me, but there was another actor that the studio was pushing for", Facinelli said. For unknown reasons, that actor was not able to play the part and Facinelli was selected in his place. The choice of Ashley Greene to portray Alice Cullen was the subject of fan criticism due to Greene being taller than her character as described in the novel. Meyer had also stated that Rachael Leigh Cook resembled her vision of Alice. Nikki Reed had previously worked with Hardwicke on "Thirteen", which they wrote together, and "Lords of Dogtown". Reed commented, "I don't want to say it's a coincidence, because we do work well together, and we have a great history. I think we make good work, but it's more that the people that hire [Hardwicke] to direct a film of theirs [have] most likely seen her other work." Kellan Lutz was in Africa shooting the HBO miniseries "Generation Kill" when the auditions for the character of Emmett Cullen were conducted. The role had already been cast by the time that production ended in December 2007, but the actor who had been selected "fell through"; Lutz subsequently auditioned and was flown to Oregon, where Hardwicke personally chose him. Rachelle Lefèvre was interested in pursuing a role in the film because Hardwicke was attached to the project as director; there was also "the potential to explore a character, hopefully, over three films"; and she wanted to portray a vampire. She "thought that vampires were basically the best metaphor for human anxiety and questions about being alive." Christian Serratos initially auditioned for Jessica Stanley, but she "fell totally in love with Angela" after reading the novels and successfully took advantage of a later opportunity to audition for Angela Weber. The role of Jessica Stanley went to Anna Kendrick, who got the part after two mix-and-match auditions with various actors. On a bed in Catherine Hardwicke's house is where Pattinson kissed Stewart for the first time for the "Twilight" screen test.