Bryce Dallas Howard Talks about Eclipse

SNMag: What has it been like joining the cast of Twilight?
BDH: It’s a really extraordinary series and obviously the franchise really reflects what Stephenie Meyer has created with a lot of integrity. She’s so involved with the movies and it is really wonderful. It’s really an incredible storytelling moment. And people are really connecting with and responding to that. So I read the books and I just did my best for the character Victoria. I just wanted to do my best not to interfere with the books.

SNMag: Did you feel pressure coming into this, with the character already being established?
BDH: Yes, of course I did. Rachelle [Lefevre] did an extraordinary job at creating Victoria and part of the joy of a franchise like this is getting to see not only the characters grow but the actors continuing to grow with the characters. That’s a lot of the joy in the Harry Potter series. Every time I see one of those movies it’s so exciting to see them because they’re all getting a little bit older and different things are happening to them. It’s like watching a TV show. You start to connect with the actors really deeply. It was really unfortunate for everybody that Rachelle left. I did feel, I don’t know if I should say a pressure, but an enormous responsibility because the fans felt really strongly about the role of Victoria and they felt a deep connection to Rachelle, which they should because she is also beautiful and talented. I really did do my best and I hope that whatever work I did can somehow honor what had been created before and what was created by Stephenie. I felt really grateful to this because Rachelle and I have connected. She’s an amazing woman and has been enormously and overwhelmingly helpful.

SNMag: What was the shooting like for you? Did you have an opportunity to hang out with the cast and bond with them?
BDH: Oh, yes, I mean they’re a very tight-knit group of people who are just wonderful. They’re incredibly authentic and none of them are getting swept up by the mania of this. They just care about each other and are protective of each other. They are just a great group of friends. I feel like all of these people would have been friends regardless. They all bonded through this amazing moment that’s happening in their lives.