Billy Burke's Twilight moustache

Billy Burke has joked that his Twilight moustache has a life of its own.

The 43-year-old decided to grow the facial hair for his portrayal of police officer Charlie Swan in the films, so that he wouldn't be recognised easily.

"Originally I came in and we were looking at two roles, but I had always had an affection for the Charlie role... Two weeks later, I showed up to the set with a moustache - from there, I have to grow a moustache for every movie; the moustache has a life of its own," he laughed.

He added: "I do get recognised more these days, now that the second film has come out, but the moustache was part of the plan - without the moustache, I'm unrecognisable most of the time."

Billy revealed he was drawn to Charlie's character, despite not sharing his love of sports or the outdoors.

"I get him, I get his inner sadness," he said.

"He and I are men of few words, I often don't speak unless spoken to. Other than that, he and I are nothing alike. I don't sit around watching sports all the time, I'm not an outdoors man by any means. I just have an appreciation for loss of love."

:: The Twilight Saga: New Moon is now out on DVD and Blu-ray.