Twilight Stars Before They Were Hot

Did you know that Kristen Stewart had her big break starring opposite a Hollywood big shot? Or that Robert Pattinson went through a cross-dressing phase? Read on to learn all the pre-glory gossip on the stars of the Twilight phenomenon.

Robert Pattinson
Not so many moons ago, Pattinson was a self-confessed "shy" English boy. He grew up in the posh London borough of Barnes with two older sisters who, he says, "used to dress me up as a girl and introduce me as Claudia." At 12, he started modelling. "Robert was such a shy, reserved little boy back then," said British model Lucy Flower, who featured with him in an avant-garde shoot in 2001. After trying his hand at amateur theatre, he was cast as Cedric Diggory in 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire before winning the sought-after Twilight role.

Kristen Stewart
Los Angeles-born Stewart had an early start in showbusiness. An agent contacted her parents after seeing the 8-year-old perform in the school's Christmas play and, two years later, she made her film debut in 2001's indie drama The Safety of Objects. But her big break came the following year, when she played Jodie Foster's daughter in Panic Room. A slew of roles followed, including in the 2005 kids’ flick Zathura and 2007's In the Land of Women. Next up: playing rocker Joan Jett in The Runaways.

Taylor Lautner
Talk about acting chops! Lautner was only 11 when his Karate instructor encouraged him to pursue acting, which led his family to make the move from hometown Michigan to Hollywood. "I heard 'No, no, no, no,' so many times," Lautner later said, "[but] from karate, I had the confidence and drive to push myself." Two years later, a tween star was born when he landed the lead in the 2005 kids' sci-fi adventure The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl. A series of small roles followed before he landed the role of a lifetime in Twilight. "I hadn't even heard of the series before I was cast," said Lautner. "[Then] I did my research ... and was just blown away." So were his fans. Team Jacob, anyone?

Kellan Lutz
This self-confessed prankster grew up in North Dakota and Arizona with one sister and six brothers. Lutz loved all sports, from skateboarding to lacrosse, and as a teenager kicked off a career as a model that landed him a coveted contract with Abercrombie and Fitch and a role in the 2007 music video for Hilary Duff's single "With Love." Not just a preppy face, Lutz, 24, won a scholarship to study chemical engineering at college but dropped out to pursue acting, with roles in TV shows like 2004's Model Citizens, 2006's The Comeback and 2008's 90210. Before being cast as Twilight's Emmett, Lutz was asked to audition for the part of Edward Cullen but, because he was shooting the 2008 mini-series Generation Kill in Africa, the role went to Robert Pattinson. Not that eternal optimist Lutz is going to ponder over what could have been. "I love life way too much and find fun in almost anything," he has said.

Thanks to the multi-million dollar success of Stephenie Meyer's bestselling series and its big-screen adaptations, this quartet won't be lonely superstars. With New Moon premiering on Nov. 19 and Eclipse currently filming, look out for a new batch of hotties on the cusp of mega-fame.

See this week's Who Magazine, on sale Friday October 16, for exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the whole cast, including never-before-seen images from New Moon as well as a tour of key locations, a look inside Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart’s real-life romance and hot new gossip from the set.

Credits: Stewart, Lutz, Lautner: Wireimage.com; Pattinson: Mirrorpix/Austral