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Having featured the members of Twilight’s Wolf Pack last
week, VF.com is switching its allegiance to vampires. On a frigid day in New
York City, I caught up with actor Peter Facinelli in between his “medical”
commitments—he plays a human doctor on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie and a
bloodsucking one, the 400-year-old Dr. Carlisle Cullen, in the Twilight saga—to
discuss how New Moon differs from the first Twilight movie, his role as a father
figure on and off the set, and what he really thinks of his fellow vampires. As
the patriarch of the Cullen clan, have you assumed a similar fatherly role with
the cast? You know, on Twilight I feel like they looked to me as the father
figure, but because we became so close, I’m more of an older brother now. Has
there been a difference in the way you interact as a cast since you filmed
Twilight? Rob[ert Pattinson] has more security guards hanging around him!
[Laughs] Other than that, not really. We really enjoy each other’s company, and
we’ve been working so much on this movie that we really haven’t had as much time
to hang out with each other. We’re putting in these long hours and then just
heading home. Usually we just try to catch dinner with each other then get back
up the next morning and do it all over again. What would you say is the one
major thing that has changed about your life since starting the franchise? I’m
traveling a lot more than I used to and interacting with a lot more people. The
fan base on this, I don’t know how else to explain it … it’s a cultural
phenomenon. People will actually hop on a plane to see you. Sometimes I do these
charity events, and people fly in to come and see me. I’m just really, really
impressed with [the fan] dedication to these books and to the movies. I’ve
always had a fan base with the work I’ve done, but never as rabid as this. You
seem pretty dedicated to them, too, judging by your Twitter page. You know, I
love connecting with the fans because I’m a fan of the books myself. They’re all
so dedicated and wonderful to me that I love to be able to give back. So if
stopping for a picture or signing a book of theirs puts a smile on their face,
then that makes me happy, too. I kind of go out of my way to make sure—if there
are fans hanging around the set—to try to stop and say hello to them before I
get in the van. It takes five minutes to make people happy. I love interacting
with them. You’ve been working steadily since your early twenties—the same age
that some of the Twilight cast members are now. Have you been able to offer any
advice to any of them, especially at a time when they’ve suddenly been thrust
into the spotlight? I’ve had some conversations with some of the cast about
careers because I’ve been working for fifteen years. They’re just starting out
with their careers, and for a lot of them this is their first big break. I think
they look to me and ask, How do you sustain that? It’s still a mystery to me,
too! I feel very lucky. For me it’s about longevity and not about just one
movie. It’s got to be a scary time for them because this movie is giving them
lots of opportunities. It’s up to them to steer this journey into a career, and
not just be part of Twilight and be gone. I look at them, and it’s got to be
pretty scary to have that much on their shoulders pretty quick, but I think
they’re really talented, really smart, and I think that they’re going to be
fine. What has this done for your career? I’ve done a lot of movies and
different roles, and this is another role that I love to play. I look forward to
continue doing a lot more. It’s definitely broadened my fan base even with my
own kids. For a long time, they didn’t get to see any of the work I’ve done
because of the mature content. Have any of your daughters seen Twilight? All
three of them have seen it! They’re ages twelve, six, and three. They love it.
The 12-year-old has read the first two books, so she loves the movie. My
6-year-old loves it even more; she wants to watch it all the time! Now the
3-year-old, because the 6 year-old likes it, wants to watch it all the time,
too. I asked her what she liked about it and she said, “I like the scary parts.”
Have they met the cast? Did they get excited? My kids are pretty unaffected.
They don’t get too star-struck. To them it’s just “Dad’s friends,” which is kind
of nice. How does New Moon differ from Twilight? You know, Twilight was an
independent movie. It was shot very documentary style, the way Catherine
[Hardwicke, Twilight’s director] shoots. It has a rawness to it, which I think
is nice. New Moon’s a little bit crisper, it has a little bit more of a studio
feel, but it still has that edge. What’s it like playing the same character for
three different directors? That gets interesting. It’s exciting in one way
because every director brings their own flavor to the movie. Each director’s
personality is different so you kind of have to adapt to their way of working,
but I’ve had really good experiences on all three. Sometimes it’s nice working
with the same person over and over because there’s a familiarity, but I’m used
to working with different directors. On Nurse Jackie we get different directors
on each episode. I like it because they bring different ideas and make you think
of things you might not have thought of before—pushing you to look at it from
different angles. I think it’s harder on the directors to come in and try to
make these movies as grand as Twilight was and take on the responsibility of
getting the story accurate in terms of telling it from the book. Then they have
a whole cast that they haven’t dealt with before, so I think it would be more
daunting for the director. You have so many new cast members coming into it, too
… Our group is such a great bunch that we’re all so welcoming. It’s like
broadening your family base. With open arms, we were there waiting. They came
out to dinners with us and just became part of the family. Speaking of family,
will you please give me one word to describe each of the Cullen clan actors
starting with Kellan Lutz? Ok. [Laughs] Goofy! Nikki Reed: Complex. Jackson
Rathbone: Artistic. Kristen Stewart: Sweet. Elizabeth Reaser: Awesome. Ashley
Greene: Pixie-ish, she’s like a fairy—she’s so light on her feet. Bubbly, that’s
the word. Rob Pattinson: Mmm, Rob. Rob’s a good one. It’s hard to narrow down to
one. So many words come to mind! Brooding, tortured … but he’s a good kid.
What’s the word for a solidly good guy? Solid? Solid. He is. He’s solid.
Finally, what your word of the day? Cold!
Thanks to Vanity Fair!
