Everyone knows about dramatic breakup between Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart at the end of the Twilight series thanks to extensive media coverage, Stewart's public apology, and Donald Trump's passionate input. And besides, both Bella and Edward are still super famous, even if they're no longer together forever. But what about the rest of the cast members that helped make the fantasy series such a success? Discover which Twilight stars stuck to acting, who transitioned to music and which actor decided to pursue a professional gaming career.
Bella’s High School Besties
As the shy new kid in school, Bella was immediately befriended by a tight-knit group that briefed her on the ins-and-outs of life in Forks, WA (and, you know, on that strange and ethereal-looking Cullen family).
Eric Yorkie, played by Justin Chon
From Twilight to K-Pop! Of the Forks High grads, Justin Chon has one of the most diverse resumes: he has a degree in Business Administration from USC, co-owns SoCal apparel store Attic, works as an actor and director on a slew of indie projects, and is a serious regular on Dr. Ken. Oh, and Justin is also a member of K-pop band BgA, which began as a parody group (read: 5 guys who can’t sing, can’t dance and don’t speak fluent Korean) and still managed to score a #2 hit on the iTunes K-pop charts. Their fanbase is known as the K-Poopers. Not quite the same ring as TwiHards.
Jessica Stanley, played by Anna Kendrick
As of 2017, Kendrick's reign as the only Twilight former cast member to earn an Oscar nom (for Up in the Air) is still going unchallenged — but K-Stew is getting there, we all know it. She is the star of the aca-mazing Pitch Perfect franchise, and has jumped from comedy (Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates) to drama (The Accountant) to musical (Into the Woods) without skipping a beat, and as we saw in Justin Timberlake’s "Can’t Stop The Feeling" first listen video, we know she has rhythm, too. NBD, she’s also a bestselling author thanks to her memoir, Scrappy Little Nobody, and her Twitter feed is the stuff memes are literally made of.
Mike Newton, played by Michael Welch
According to Twilight lore, actor Michael Newton also auditioned for the part of Robert Cullen but had to settle for playing Mike Newton (much like his character had to settle for being friendzoned by Bella). After the saga ended, he swapped vampires for zombies and starred in two seasons of Syfy’s Z Nation. His current IMDb page is a mix of indie shorts and series one-offs, and his social media feed is a mix of pets, philanthropy and politics.
Angela Weber, played by Christian Serratos
Another cast member who’s traded vamps for zombies, Christian Serratos joined The Walking Dead in season 4 playing Rosita, a periphery character who has turned into a series regular. IRL, she’s a huge animal lover and has just given birth to her first child.
The Cullen Clan
The ageless, ancient Cullen family somehow managed to"live" a "normal" life by pretending to sleep, eat, attend school and work like regular people. But Twilight never really explained why they chose ho-hum domesticity over… literally anything else. (OK sure, they had that really nice house and Dr. Carlisle stole them blood on the regs but still.) To be fair, though, Twilight never really explained the ~sparkles~ either...
Carlisle Cullen, played by Peter Facinelli
As the patriarch and literal-creator of the Cullen family, Carlisle had so much control over his bloodlust that he chose to spend his days in the ER. (Kind of a show-off move, right?) IRL, Facinelli has had loads of success in TV, with major roles in Glee, Nurse Jackie, American Odyssey, and Supergirl. Off-camera, he’s raising three girls with Jennie Garth (aka Kelly from 90210), whom he was married to from 2001-2013.
Esme Cullen, played by Elizabeth Reaser
Elizabeth Reaser has 20+ years of work as an actress, including a very memorable Grey’s Anatomy storyline — you might have forgotten [Editor's Note: LOL] but she played Jane Doe/Rebecca Pope/Ava, an accident victim with amnesia who developed a relation with Dr. Alex Karev).
Emmett Cullen, played by Kellan Lutz
When not busy reading in a tree, Lutz can be seen flexing his muscles in macho movies like Tarzan, The Legend of Hercules, and The Expendables 3. He's also a Coachella regular.
Rosalie Cullen, played by Nikki Reed
Nikki Reed loves that vampire life so much, she married one (Ian Somerhalder, of The Vampire Diaries) — she and Ian are currently expecting their first child. Along with her acting work, she is devoted animal advocate and environmental activist. She recently teased a sustainable fashion brand, so stay tuned.
Alice Cullen, played by Ashley Greene
Seemingly poised for a splashy B-list acting career post-Twilight, Greene's post-Cullen life hasn’t quite lived up to the hype. She’s appeared in small productions like Burying the Ex, In Dubious Battle, Shangri-La Suite and the TV series Rogue.
Jasper Cullen, played by Jackson Rathbone
Even at his Twilight peak, Jackson managed to multitask, playing guitar in the indie funk band 100 Monkeys until 2012, alongside his acting gigs. He’s a prolific Tweeter — his DMs were open recently so he could chat about Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why with fans.
The Tracker Vamps
These nomadic vamps got a scent for Bella, and threw life into chaos for both the Cullens and the wolves destined to protect humans from their blood-sucker nemeses.
James, played by Cam Gigandet
Cam has made a career out of his bad-boy smolder, first on The O.C., then as James, the sadistic tracker who, like Edward before him, just couldn't get the smell of Bella out of his head (and we all know how that worked out for him). He keeps a low social media profile IRL, but maybe it’s because his three children keep him busy. After Twilight, he went on to work in Easy A, The Magnificent Seven, and, interestingly enough Ice, a series about diamond trading.
Laurent, played by Edi Gathegi
Clearly not learning from James's mistake, Laurent thought he had his next meal after cornering Bella in some otherwise-romantic meadow. And then the wolf pack showed up to spoil his party (and dismember him). Getting killed off early in the saga didn’t slow down Edi’s career – he’s since worked on several maj TV series including Justified, Proof, and The Blacklist.
Victoria, played by Rachelle Lefevre
And clearly not learning from James or Laurent's mistakes, Victoria went and got herself killed too. Except wait, there's more drama to deal with first: Canadian actress Rachelle Lefevre’s Twilight journey was interesting because she didn’t get to complete it to the messy decapitation death scene. Instead she was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard for the third movie, and major public dramz ensued — Rachelle was “devastated” that production company insisted her schedule could not be accommodated while working on an indie project, the film Barney’s Version. (There were rumors about it being a cost saving move on Summit’s part.) Despite not being able to finish out her work with Bella et al, her career has continued with roles in Under the Dome and Law & Order: SVU and a recently shot an ABC pilot, Doomsday.
The Wolf Pack
Not just a Quileute legend, the wolf pack was born (or transformed, you know, in those oddly-alluring denim shorts-exploding scenes) of the increased threat of vampires in the Pacific Northwest. As usual, blame Bella! The wolves were tied together by more than their physical bond — when working as a pack, they could also read one another’s minds. Yes, that got awkward.
Paul Lahote, played by Alex Meraz
Hyperactive werewolf Paul was one of the most vocal members of the pack – and he made it through all three films without getting eaten by Jacob. In life after the saga, he had a role in Suicide Squad and is currently starring in the buzzy and bizarre TNT series Animal Kingdom.
Jared Cameron, played by Bronson Pelletier
Since Twilight, Bronson has only booked a couple of TV appearances, but that doesn’t mean he was totally out of the spotlight. TMZ got the scoop on his one brush with law enforcement (but honestly, who hasn’t wanted to pee on the carpet at LAX?). Clearly he’s been able to laugh it off since.
Seth Clearwater, played by Booboo Stewart
As the youngest member of the wolfpack, Seth Clearwater was the eager pup of the group. Since his work on Twilight, he’s scored roles in Hawaii Five-O, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Disney Channel movie Descendants 2. He hit the Beauty & The Beast red carpet with GF and frequent travel companion Megan Serena – they chronicle their nature-loving on a joint Insta account.
The Volturri Family
The Volturri operated like the mob, hence that subtle decision to base them in Italy. They intimidate, blackmail, coerce and control other vamps' covens into doing their bidding, as well as cherrypicking those with the most desirable supernatural powers to use at their discretion. And surprise, surprise, they're also all over Bella.
Aro, played by Michael Sheen
Michael is one of the more established actors to have worked on Twilight, playing the gleefully bloodthirsty leader of the Volturri family with relish. He plotted to take the Cullens down but, having seen that very confusing vision of the future from Alice, realized it wouldn't have worked out well to say the least... so ended up retreating back to his lair where he could continue to feast on tourists in peace. IRL, Michael has since starred in Masters of Sex and played the robot bartender in Passengers. He’s also adorably attached to Sarah Silverman.
Caius, played by Jamie Campbell Bower
The very pretty Jamie Campbell Bower is already juggling three careers, and he hasn’t hit 30: he models, acts, and does voice work for Thomas & Friends. Wait, no, four careers, because he's also a fledgling rock star. Campbell Bower is the lead singer and guitarist for English punk band Counterfeit, currently on tour in Europe.
Jane, played by Dakota Fanning
Already a star when she joined the series, Dakota Fanning’s resume is too long to list (but she notably reunited with Kristen Stewart on The Runways). Next up, look for her in hotly anticipated Ocean’s Eight and Kristen Dunst’s directorial debut, The Bell Jar.
Alec, played by Cameron Bright
BC-born Cameron Bright starred in the CTV series Motive, and stars in an upcoming feature film, Pretty Outrageous. In his spare time, he’s a major Xbox gamer and, taking RTs into consideration, his social media slants in the alt-right direction — he appears to be a fan of InfoWars host Alex Jones in particular.
Miscellaneous Vamps
While some lead minor roles, all of these vamps had a hand in Bella and Edward's epic love story (or trying to ruin it!) and some have gone on to do ~major~ things. *Cough, cough, Rami Malek*
Benjamin, played by Rami Malek
We’d recognize that face anywhere! Before the internet’s main bae decided to hack the world as Mr. Robot, he was playing Benjamin, an Egyptian vampire who could control the elements (his powers were special and envy-inducing, even amongst the undead). We all know what Rami is up to these days — Emmy winner, Dior model, and working on an upcoming Freddie Mercury biopic. Let’s not forget he’s also a full-time dreamboat.
Amun, played by Omar Metwally
Omar reunited with his vampire protégé Rami Malek on Mr. Robot, playing a special agent in charge of investigating all the super secret hacking happening. He’s also dipped into another prestige drama, The Affair, where he plays a sexy and mysterious surgeon, so, like, CARLISLE????
Tia, played by Angela Sarafyan
Another member of the Egyptian coven, Angela has also ended up on a high-brow drama – she plays Clementine Pennyfeather on the mind-bending Westworld. She recently starred alongside Oscar Isaac in The Promise, a love triangle set in the last days of the Ottoman Empire.
Irina, played by Maggie Grace
Maggie Grace was the Cullen clan’s personal Judas, giving up Renesmee’s existence to the Volturri in retaliation for Laurent’s death. Maggie’s resume is a mixed bag of hot shows like Californication and Masters of Sex, big budget romance (like the Nicholas Sparks tearjerker The Choice), three Taken films and some lower-budget indie fare. She keeps her private life pretty low-key, but she did just get hitched so hey, mazel!
Vladimir, played by Noel Fisher
Vancouver-based actor Noel Fisher was a Canadian star on the rise when he landed his Twilight gig, and his dance card has been pretty full ever since; he took on the role of underground icon Michelangelo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and stars in the long running Showtime comedy Shameless.
Tanya, played by MyAnna Buring
From Breaking Dawn to… Downton Abbey? MyAnna, who was born in Sweden, raised in the Oman and moved to the UK as a teenager, has a resume stacked with roles on UK classics including Dr. Who (which she was on Pre-Twilight), Downton, and a slew of BBC productions. And it seems that her role as Tanya wasn’t her only brush with the undead — she also starred in a horror comedy Lesbian Vampires Kill. The camptastic production also starred a then-unknown James Corden, and yes, we tracked down the trailer for you.
Eleazar, played by Christian Camargo
Since Twilight, Christian has landed significant roles in Haven, Elementary, House of Cards and Penny Dreadful (playing the OG vampire, Dracula).
Zafrina, played by Judith Shekoni
Crucial as they may have been for the movie's happy ending, the Amazon tribe didn’t get much screen time in Breaking Dawn, but Judi's career has intersected with another Twilight alum; along with roles in Heroes Reborn and Ordinary Lives (not to mention the British soap opera Eastenders before her Twilight stint), she’s working with Cam Gigandet on the sparkling diamond series Ice.
Bree, played by Jodelle Ferland
Bree's time in Twilight may have been short-lived thanks to the Volturi's cruel decision to execute the newly turned vampire, but the character lived on in a spin-off novella by Meyer. Unfortunately, the novella never made it to the big screen and Jodelle never revived her blood-thirsty character. Instead the Canadian actress appeared in several T.V. movies and currently stars in Syfy series Dark Matter.
Riley, played by Xavier Samuel
After leading Victoria's army of newborn vamps, Riley met his demise fighting werewolves. His quick death meant plenty of time for Xavier to pursue other acting opportunities, including a lead role in twisted love story Adore and a spot in Brad Pitt's 2014 film Fury. Xavier currently stars in Australian show Seven Types of Ambiguity.
And Renesmee, played by Mackenzie Foy
A literal vampire war was waged over doe-eyed Renesmee, a girl with rapidly aging genes and Jacob’s imprint somewhere on her immortal soul. She was played by Mackenzie Foy, who we’ve caught up with once before. Since then, she’s taken a few years off of the biz, but featured in Interstellar, and is set to return in an fantastical holiday movie, Nutcracker and the Four Realms.
