patriarch figure

from the sunday paper:

Peter Facinelli
The Quick Q&A (Full Interview)

Peter Facinelli—aka vampire doctor Carlisle Cullen—appears at Twi/Tour, a three-day “Twilight” convention on Friday, July 10 at the Westin Buckhead.

We know “Twilight” fans can get pretty batty. Any close encounters?

They save all that for Rob Pattinson! My character is more of a patriarch figure, and the fans have been very respectful. I’m pretty easygoing and I stop and take a lot of pictures with them. Sometimes I find the more you try to run away from it, the harder it is. For Rob, it’s very overwhelming. For me, it’s the right amount. The perfect amount.

Are there any scenes from the books that you hope make it into the films?

For “New Moon,” there’s a scene with Bella (Kristin Stewart) where I stitch her up. I was excited to shoot that scene because it was a pivotal scene. It kind of sets up the whole reason why Rob’s character doesn’t want to change her into a vampire. I hope it stays in the movie because I feel like it’s essential and it’s a really nice scene for Carlisle and Bella; it’s an intimate thing. It’s a scene where a lot of information is being given and it shows another side of Carlisle, a soft side of him that I like. I’d be bummed if that was out.

Ever run into a fake Peter Facinelli on Twitter?

There’s a Peter Faceinelli that just came onboard. He has 14 followers. The guy can’t even spell my name right, so he is obviously not me, but for some reason those 14 people think he is.

Have you ever been as rabid a fan of something as these “Twilight” fans are?

No. I’ve got to hand it to Twilight fans. [A] guy flew from Denver for an autograph signing; I don’t think there’s anyone that I would get on an airplane and fly to get an autograph from. That’s a diehard fan, and I’m very humbled. That’s why I try to go out of my way when I see fans to give back.

How do you deal with the paparazzi?

They’re going to take the picture anyway, so I tend to stop and wave and then keep going on my way. I try to remind myself it’s a picture in a paper, it’s going run and it’s going to be gone. It sucks if you’ve been on an airplane for six hours and you’re tired and you look like junk and they want to shove a camera in your face, it’s annoying in that respect, but I try to take it all with a grain of salt and move forward.

Do you see much of the cities you travel to for conventions?

It’s usually a quick trip, but you get the sense of the towns through the people. I’m excited to visit Atlanta; I’ve never been. I’m looking forward to meeting the people there. [Conventions are] great because a lot of people live far from L.A .and New York, and it’s fun to spread it out all over. As cast members, we’ve gotten to go and visit some really great places.

Do you like burgers? If so, you’ve got to check out the Vortex while you’re here.

Yeah, I love burgers. We’ll go to the Vortex. You’ll have to take me there.


—Alison Abbey