Twilight of the Future: What's Next for the Cast?

This is a departure from my normal book related discussion posts. As you all know, I'm a huge Twilight fan. I love the books as well as the movies, despite recognizing the faults in both.

I was trying to come up with a discussion topic for today and I kept thinking about Breaking Dawn 2 and what the major actors are going to do next. Whether their careers will last beyond the final Twilight. So I thought it would be fun to discuss each of the actors in turn. I'm going to guess about their future success or lack thereof in Hollywood plus a few (somewhat cutting) comments about my personal opinions of them.

Oldie but goodie photo

Edward and Bella: Rob and Kristen

I'm tacking them together, because my assessment is basically the same and they always seem to be a pair anyway. I think they stand the greatest chance of having long, successful careers. A lot of people criticize their acting, but I think they play the roles they're given quite well. Neither of them are particularly emotive and both are rather awkward. Luckily, there are quite a few roles where the characters' personalities are awkward and non-demonstrative. Kristen especially is different than most of the young actresses who are either bubbly gum cheery or tearing off their clothes sexy. She fits a niche that Hollywood appears to be looking for right now.

They both seem to be making the right moves to position themselves in the Business. By aligning themselves with couture designers (Balenciaga for Kristen and Dior for Rob), they give off an aura of refinement that is different from many of their peers who fall over themselves to front a cheap (quality and/or cost) line of clothing or perfume. As for the whole couple thing, I don't know whether that helps or hurts them. Part of me thinks its all staged for publicity. It looks quite suspicious. On the other hand, they sure went out of their way to hide it for a long time. Plus, the gossip columnist I consider most reliable (Lainey Gossip) says that all her sources indicate that it's real.

Jacob: Taylor

What a sweet kid. Unlike many viewers, I do not swoon over Taylor. He's good-looking, definitely, but the ten year age difference makes me look at him with an "Aww, how cute...pat on the head" mindset. He seems like such a nice boy. Unfortunately, I think the piece of lint I just flicked off my sleeve acts as well as he does. And judging by the abysmal reviews his action movie Abduction received, Hollywood agrees. I hope he's able to take some good acting lessons, make a turn around, and find success. He has the looks and fitness of an action star. A kid as good as him deserves to do well...but only if he figures out how to act.

Alice: Ashley

Ashley tries. Tries what you might ask? Whatever it takes, I'm guessing. She has had more non-Twilight roles than most of the other supporting actors. But I don't know if she'll be able to parlay that into a successful career. I think her problem is that she's the opposite of Kristen - she's just like every other young Hollywood actress. She's very pretty, she's sweet yet sultry, etc. Her acting is just fine, but I haven't seen anything that makes her stand out. Not that it matters, but I can't decide whether I like her as a person. She's hard to read. I picture her as (a) the super nice girl next door who'd be your best friend or (b) the snobby mean girl who turns her nose up at you if you don't meet her impossible standards of perfection.

Jasper: Jackson

I would love to see Jackson do well. He is such a cool guy. Funny, handsome, talented, really charismatic. I don't know if he has much lined up outside of Twilight anymore. I hope he finds more roles. He seems like a good actor - or at least as good as the other young actors. And he has that nameless "something" that makes you want to watch him more. He left his band 100 Monkeys last year. I wonder what was behind that. I'm thinking that getting his girlfriend pregnant put a major kink into his plans. I sure hope he's able to move beyond it and find success.

Rosalie: Nikki

Nikki intrigues me. She's been typecast as the edgy bad girl for almost her entire career. She has the attitude to play such roles well. But she also seems like a smart, cool, fun girl. Not saccharine sweet in the way that Ashley comes off. I'm surprised that she hasn't gotten more significant roles. I see her as a character actor, not a leading lady, but I still figured she'd be out there more. I do think that she was foolish to get married so young (not that I can talk much, since Nikki married at 23 and I got married at 25. It just feels a lot younger). I wonder if that will negatively affect her career. Or positively affect it. I don't know.

Emmett: Kellan

Personality wise, I lump Kellan in with Ashley. Both come off like sweet, fun loving people, but not distinctive. Hot, uber built, testosterone driven, action star wannabes are a dime a dozen in Hollywood. What sets Kellan apart from the crowd? Nothing, as far as I can tell. Like Taylor, Kellan seems like a nice guy. And because of that, I hope he'll do well. But other than a remake of Tarzan and a few tiny things, I don't really see anything leading in that direction.

Carlisle and Esme: Peter and Liz

Just like Edward and Bella, the "parents" are similar to me. Peter and Liz were relatively established character actors when they started filming Twilight. Their roles in Twilight were basically supporting character roles. They're roles outside of Twilight have been character roles. I see them continuing to have moderately successful careers mainly outside of the spotlight. Liz never seems to like the attention from Twilight which I presume is why she was hardly ever interviewed. I don't know much about her, but she seems decent. Peter clearly loved the attention and interaction with fans. He's always struck me as a really cool, outgoing, fun guy. I sure think it's sad that he and his wife split up. Unfortunately, it's unusual to see Hollywood couples last as long as they did and they still came to the same end as most.

What do you think about the actors' futures?