Stephenie Meyer's vampire novels about the romanticized love affair between a high school girl and a vampire launched one of the most popular young adult film franchises in recent history. The Twilight saga made stars out of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, who developed their own real-life romance during filming.
Released between 2008 and 2012, the five movies that comprise this supernatural cinematic story feature performances from many talented actors beyond Pattinson and Stewart. While the Twilight movies are full of campy scares and teenage angst, those responsible for bringing Meyer's characters to life have some serious horror street cred, proven by their work on other films and television series.
Christian Camargo: Penny Dreadful (2014 - 2016)
After vamping out as Eleazar Denali in the Twilight movies, actors Christian Camargo bared his fangs again in Showtime's gothic horror series Penny Dreadful. Camargo co-stars in season 3 of the gory drama as the most iconic bloodsucker of all time: Count Dracula.
Dracula is depicted as the fallen brother of Lucifer in the show, the very first vampire to ever exist. He poses as zoologist Alexander Sweet in order to seduce one of the main characters, Vanessa Ives.
Christopher Heyerdahl: Supernatural (2005 - 2020)
Christopher Heyerdahl is a prolific actor who plays Marcus Volturi in Breaking Dawn: Part 1 and Part 2. Heyerdahl has dipped his toes in many genres spanning both film and television, including the long-running CW series, Supernatural.
In Supernatural, Heyerdahl plays one of the many human forms assumed by the demon Alastair for a three-episode arc in the fourth season. When Dean Winchester is sent to Hell, Alastair is the demon tasked with torturing him; the pair soon develop a strange bond after Alastair gives Dean the option to learn how to torture other souls.
Billy Burke: Lights Out (2016)
Known for playing Bella Swan's cop dad Charlie, Billy Burke's character Paul haunts every scene of the supernatural horror film Lights Out. Starring Teresa Palmer, the movie follows Rebecca, a young woman whose childhood propensity for seeing things in the dark follows her into her adulthood.
It turns out Rebecca and her siblings are being tormented by a supernatural entity connected to their mother. Burke plays the Rebecca's stepfather, who is targeted by the dangerous specter at the beginning of the movie.
Mackenzie Foy: The Conjuring (2013)
After playing the daughter of Edward and Bella in Twilight, child actor Mackenzie Foy scared the pants off audiences with her role in James Wan's breakout horror movie, The Conjuring. Based on the trials and tribulations of famed demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, this first installment of the franchise follows the paranormal investigators to Rhode Island, where the couple helps the Perron family uncover the source of supernatural occurrences in their home.
Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson play the Warrens, and Foy co-stars as Cindy, one of the Perron family's five daughters. Cindy is attacked by what turns out to be the spirit of a long-dead witch named Bathsheba.
Elizabeth Reaser: The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Edward's adoptive vampire mom in Twilight, Esme is played by Elizabeth Reaser. From the small screen to the big screen, Reaser's impressive filmography includes everything from Grey's Anatomy to The Handmaid's Tale.
Fans of Twilight might recognize Reaser in Mike Flanagan's acclaimed Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House. This loose adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel of the same name follows five siblings whose experiences living in a haunted house as kids affect their lives as adults; Reaser plays Shirley Crain, the oldest female in the clan.
Anna Kendrick: The Voices (2014)
Anna Kendrick plays Bella Swan's classmate Jessica Stanley in the Twilight movies, a role that helped her rise in prominence. Known more for comedies than scary features, Kendrick stars alongside Ryan Reynolds in the quirky horror-comedy The Voices.
Directed by comic book writer Marjane Satrapi, Reynolds plays an upbeat but schizophrenic factory worker who decides to stop taking his medications one day. Kendrick plays Lisa, one of Jerry's coworkers, who gets caught up in Jerry's growing delusions and paranoia that, despite his best efforts, turn violent.
Christian Serratos: The Walking Dead (2010 - )
From the halls of Forks High School in Twilight to the streets of post-zombie apocalypse Georgia in AMC's The Walking Dead, actor Christian Serratos brings a quiet intensity to her roles. In Twilight, she plays Bella's school friend Angela Weber; in TWD, Serratos plays survivor Rosita Espinosa.
Since 2014, Rosita accompanies Eugene Porter and Abraham Ford on a mission to Washington, D.C., where they eventually cross paths with Rick Grimes' group. Rosita eventually becomes a medic in the Alexandria Safe-Zone.
Kristen Stewart: Panic Room (2002)
Long before playing human-turned-vampire Bella Swan, a young Kristen Stewart plays Jodie Foster's taught in David Fincher's terrifying thriller, Panic Room. Foster and Stewart are a mother and daughter whose New York City home is invaded by three villainous thieves.
The women seek shelter in a hidden panic room developed by the home's previous owner. They engage in a cat-and-mouse game with the burglars, who make it clear they want something inside the secret chamber.
Taylor Lautner: Scream Queens (2015 - 2016)
Known as Bella's on-again/off-again werewolf lover Jacob Black, Taylor Lautner has worked hard to distance himself from his Twilight past. It's still unclear if Lautner has been able to come out from underneath the shadow cast by his work in the vampire romance movies, but he's had some fun along the way.
Lautner stars in the second season of Ryan Murphy's horror satire Scream Queens, a darkly comedic Fox series featuring Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, and Billie Lourd. Lautner plays an ER doctor, Dr. Cassidy Cascade, who works at the hospital owned by Curtis' character, Cathy Munsch.
Robert Pattinson: The Lighthouse (2019)
More than any other actor in the cast, Robert Pattinson used his breakout role as vampire Edward Cullen in Twilight to launch a diverse and complex career, one noted for emotionally intense roles in experimental films. A prime example: Robert Eggers' horrific psychodrama, The Lighthouse.
In The Lighthouse, Pattinson acts alongside veteran Willem Dafoe. They play a pair of lighthouse attendants who lose their minds while working in 1890s New England.