For those who care to look so far back, there was a time when Robert Pattinson was not yet Edward Cullen. Jackson Rathbone, who has since been cast as fellow Cullen, Jasper Hale, at one point had been pretty close to landing the leading male role himself.

“I was a choice. I don’t think I was [Catherine Hardwick's] first choice,” Jackson told us in a recent interview on the set of his new movie, “Girlfriend.”

But he was a definite choice for author Stephenie Meyer, who had included Jackson on her favorite suggestions list of possible Edwards on her website in July, 2007 before casting was finished (Robert Pattinson was one of the more popular suggestions, but Henry Cavill was her first choice). Jackson emphasized he felt, in both cases, Rob was the first choice once the actors had been narrowed down.“I think he’s the best man for the job,” Jackson said. “I wouldn’t have another Edward Cullen than Robert Pattinson. He’s perfect.”

Had the tables turned and Jackson got the part, it could have been his face lining the tabloid articles he told us he liked to laugh at. Somehow, when he informed us, “I love playing Jasper,” we’re also assuming he loved missing a huge, gossip-driven bullet (Jackson talks more about that “bullet,” er the endless Robert Pattinson- Kristen Stewart romance rumors, at MTV.com).

For more from the “New Moon” cast and to see an exclusive clip from the film, check out MTV’s “Ulalume: Howling at New Moon” on Friday, October 30 at 9 p.m. ET — and check MTV.com at 10 p.m. to see the clip exclusively online!

Source: Hollywood Crush MTV

Be Sociable, Share!

•