THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN - PART 2

Vampires from Around the World
Dozens of vampires from all corners of the earth descend on Forks, Washington to discover Renesmee's true nature in this final chapter. First introduced at Bella and Edward's wedding in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Christian Camargo as Eleazar, Mia Maestro as Carmen, Casey LaBow as Kate, Maggie Grace as Irina, and MyAnna Buring as Tanya, reprise their roles as members of the Denali Coven, cousins to the like-minded vegetarian Cullens. Other members of that clan, introduced here in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, are mother Sasha and Vasilii, portrayed by Andrea Powell and Billy Wagenseller, who appear briefly in the Russian village flashback scene that explains the concept of an immortal child.

New supernatural characters asked to witness to the Volturi include: American nomad Garrett played by Lee Pace; European nomad Alistair played by Joe Anderson; Egyptians Amun and son Benjamin played by Omar Metwally and Rami Malek, and their mates Kebi and Tia played by Andrea Gabriel and Angela Sarafyan; as well as Romanians Stefan and Vladimir, played by Guri Weinberg and Noel Fisher. Also featured are Tracey Heggins as Senna and Judi Shekoni as Zafrina of the Amazon Coven. The Irish Coven is made up of Marlane Barnes as Maggie, Lisa Howard as Siobhan, and Patrick Brennan as Liam. Additional American nomads include: Mary played by Toni Trucks, Randall played by Bill Tangradi, Peter played by Erik Odom, and Charlotte played by Valorie Curry. Also appearing are the Ticuna Indian pair: Nahuel, a vampire/human hybrid, portrayed by JD Pardo; and his aunt Huilen, portrayed by Marisa Quinn.

"The Cullens gather a group of vampires from all around the world to put their case forward. We're not sure whether it'll be like a court case trial or whether it'll be an out and out battle... probably a mixture of the two. So there are a lot of preparations going on - people taking sides and gathering forces," says Michael Sheen.

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 introduces at least 30 new vampires and there's very little page count to be able to do that, so I had to pull forward the characters that were going to be most important to the story telling. But everyone's in there, I don't think I left anybody out completely," explains Rosenberg. "In a book, you have pages and pages where you can talk about their very rich history. On the screen, you have to convey it quickly and visual images help... you can do in one picture what you can with a chapter of words. It was challenging, but one of the most fun things about writing this was introducing these new characters. I really enjoyed writing Garrett; I got to introduce him in a very fun way. I also liked writing Alistair."

Godfrey adds, "Many of them have little gifts that come into play through the course of the movie. Benjamin is capable of affecting the elements, he can create fire and move water; and Kate can conduct electricity on her skin. Of course, we already know Aro has Jane and Alec, who we discover can spread a mist that cuts off all of your senses, which is completely blinding to everyone. This incapacitating is even more powerful a gift than Jane's ability to inflict pain on one person at a time. Breaking Dawn - Part 2 really explodes into all of these vampire powers and you finally get to see the full breadth of their world and how one's innate powers even as a human are awakened even further after becoming a vampire. That's a great closure to the series."

"What's interesting about the narrative structure is that most of these new vampires are not introduced until a little bit into the second act," shares Condon. "They each get a moment that defines them and then they're on the battlefield and it's over. In another series, for example Lord of the Rings, you would have gathered these people together across an entire movie, or even many movies. So, it was really important, and the actors felt this very strongly, that they each had their moment to pop, and they really had to create it very quickly."

"Each filmmaker has gotten a chance to introduce a whole new group of actors. Catherine had the Cullens and Bella's family; then Chris introduced all of the Volturi and the wolves; and David showed us the power of those newborns and more Quileutes. Here it's vampires from around the world," explains Condon. "What I loved about it was that they were all playing off of archetypes. I've loved vampires since I was a kid and in this you have the British Christopher Lee vampire, the Egyptians from The Awakening, the absolutely traditional Romanians a la Bela Lugosi Transylvanian vampires, and then some other more surprising ones from America. That was a treat."

"The thing that Stephenie weighed in on, that I hadn't quite realized, is that most of these vampires have been around for centuries. Initially I thought casting the new vampires would be a chance to shake it up in terms of the age of the actors, but being much over the age of 30 is verboten in the world of Twilight," laughs Condon.

"We shot for a number of months and it was interesting to watch how all the Covens at first all just socialized with themselves. Then there was inner-Coven socializing, but still there seemed to be a distinction between the Volturi side and the Cullen side. Then there's that inevitable late Saturday night where they cross the lines, and after that everyone was friends," laughs Condon.

Pattinson laughs, "We've had the same cast for years, so it's such a huge change having like 70 people on this one. It's amazing. There are some really great actors and it's interesting because it gives it a very epic feel, which is nice for the final one of the series. Also, really nice people seem to be attracted to be in the cast of Twilight movies."

"It's been fun watching the new cast become part of the Twilight family because when we started this franchise, we got together for dinners and did things after work. Then we became like the sophomores and then a whole new freshmen group came in - the wolves. As we move further and further along, now we're the old folks... the Cullens are exhausted and never go out anymore," laughs Facinelli. "The new guys are all hanging out together, like we did. It's nostalgic, because now basically we sit in our rooms at night, too tired to go out."

Christian Camargo reveals, "The Cullen family as a whole are a bunch of pranksters. I wouldn't trust them. The good part about being with this group is everyone loves to laugh. When you're playing vampires and someone slips on a piece of snow and falls, a vampire wouldn't do that, so it's hysterical. There are practical jokes regularly and Peter's a big part of that."

"The new vampires have been a good addition to the project because we bring smiles and we're all good cooks. That helps," laughs Maestro. "We have kitchens in our rooms in Squamish, so it's battle of the chefs every night."

Summary of Talented New Vampires*
Renesmee - The Cullen Coven
*Supernatural gift: She can show people her thoughts by touching their skin. So far, no one has been able to block her talent. Born a hybrid, she grows at a greatly accelerated rate and has both vampire as well as human characteristics. Mentally, she learns with vampire speed and retains perfectly. She also has a beating heart, can eat human food, and sleep.
Actor: Mackenzie Foy
Eleazar - The Denali Coven
Supernatural gift: Ability to sense the type and strength of gifted vampires' talents.
Actor: Christian Camargo
Kate - The Denali Coven
Supernatural gift: Power to cause a painful, electric shock-like jolt in anyone she touches.
Actor: Casey LaBow
Alistair - Nomad
Supernatural gift: Can track both people and things. He can sense the general direction of whatever he is looking for, but it takes him a long time to narrow this feeling down to a specific location. If whatever he's seeking is on the move, he may never catch up.
Actor: Joe Anderson
Benjamin - The Egyptian Coven
Supernatural gift: Can influence the elements - water, earth, fire, and air. He is able to physically manipulate the world around him with his will, similar to telekinetic powers.
Actor: Rami Malek
Zafrina - The Amazon Coven
Supernatural gift: Strong illusory talent. She can make her target see any illusions she wants, or see nothing at all. Her range includes anyone in her eyesight.
Actor: Judi Shekoni
Maggie - The Irish Coven
Supernatural gift: She is able to tell if a person is lying.
Actor: Marlane Barnes
Siobahn - The Irish Coven
Supernatural gift: She does not believe she has any talent, but some suspect she can affect the outcome of a situation through willpower alone.
Actor: Lisa Howard

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