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.