This vampire is ready to bite you… with pleasure!

BEVERLY HILLS — With a vampire like Kellan Lutz, unarguably the sexiest member of the Cullen Coven in Stephenie Meyer’s smash-hit Twilight Trilogy (with Breaking Dawn 2 as the fourth and last installment, opening tomorrow nationwide, released by Pioneer Films), I suppose anybody would be willing to offer his/her neck for him to bite on…with pleasure!

Luckily, Kellan (as Emmett Cullen) didn’t bite any of the more than 30 international journalists (as distinguished from the “domestic” and the “foreign press”) who faced him during the TV and print interviews last week at the function room of Four Seasons. He was a friendly vampire, ready with a smile and showing not a single fang at all.

An advocate of Saving Innocence (for protection of girls against sex trafficking), Kellan was among the six vampires lined up for the interview, along with Peter Facinelli (Carlisle), Nikki Reed (Rosalie), Jackson Rathbone (Jasper), Elizabeth Reaser (Esme) and Michael Sheen (Aro).

The common question was: How do they feel now that the Twilight Saga is ending and where do they go from here?

“It has been a blessing to be a part of it, and I could die happy!” exclaimed Kellan, drawing hearty laughter from the media guys. “I mean, I love life so much but it’s so funny…you know, I love acting and there’s no doubt in my mind that work will be there because so many doors have been opened. I love action movies and there are many action movies out there.”

Lutz: Considered one of the sexiest men alive

He has the looks and the build for action movies. In fact, he’s playing Tarzan in a movie in progress and he just loves it.

“I’m a different kind of Tarzan,” Kellan joked, “blond hair and blue-eyed. During the audition, I put my wig on, I got into my underwear, I walked into the room and started acting like Tarzan. I got the role. My kind of Tarzan is very Avatar-like and the storyline is very modern and contemporary.”

• Fond memories about the Saga: “There was an innocence on the set. It felt more like playing than working. I loved catching the snow with my tongue. Yes, real snow! We became like one big happy family. It’s the kind of camaraderie developed through the five years that we worked on the Saga. I will miss that!”

• On being considered “one of the sexiest men alive”: “I really don’t mind it. It’s a compliment and, you know, labels are not good but compliments are. The ‘sexiest man’ stuff? Hmmm, I really don’t look at myself that way. If someone is attracted to me because of my physical qualities, cool! If I were named Mr. Congeniality, I would be very happy.”

*   *   *

Michael Sheen

• Fond memories about the Saga: “My daughter has grown up reading the novels and I realized how powerful the stories were for a lot of people. So to be a part of something that huge is very exciting and I will miss that. I myself fell in love with the novels after I read the first book. I guess that to most everybody around the world I will forever be Aro, my character.”

• On how his daughter would react to that scene in Breaking Dawn 2 in which his head is chopped off: “I think she’ll go crazy over it even if she has read the book. I saw the movie and that scene was shocking for me. They shot it so beautifully and I was amused seeing my cut-off head smiling. But there’s a twist. I won’t tell you what. Just watch the movie.”

*   *   *

Elizabeth Reaser

• On how the Saga has changed her life: “I kind of feel it only when I’m in a foreign country and somebody starts hugging me and calling me Esme. It’s amazing, what a crazy job…you know, the international awareness and the love that we get because of the Saga. I have a very small and very private life, and I’ve always sort of lived in a very insular way, so it’s completely a shock to me.”

• On what she will miss most: “I’ve been in Norway, Israel and all over, and the connection between us and the fans really moves me. I will surely miss that. I don’t think I’ll ever experience like that again. The way they scream at the sight of us. Oh I will really miss that! It’s the sweetest sound that I have ever heard.”

*   *   *

Peter Facinelli

• On how the Saga has changed his life: “I don’t feel like I have changed as an individual, or in my beliefs and my goals. I looked at it like I’ve just traveled a lot more and met a lot more people.”

• On what he will miss most: “I will miss the fans who have become like family. There are people that I’ve met during the first movie and I know them by name now because they always show up for all the events. Like us, they’ve been a part of this franchise. I just hope the fan clubs will go on.”

*   *   *

Nikki Reed

• On what she learned from the Saga: “You know, I have all kinds of feeling about this. On the one hand, it feels almost like a waste of energy to be sad over something that has brought us so much happiness and that has been such a great experience. What a blessing that we have made it — you know, five films in five years! We couldn’t have imagined that we could have gone this far.”

• On how she has grown with the Saga: “I was 19 when we did the first movie. Now, I’m married and I feel that I have grown a lot. In the beginning, we were kind of just having fun, not knowing that the franchise would become so huge! It has been a life-changing experience and I’m thankful to have been part of it.”

*   *   *

Jackson Rathbone

• On being a brand-new dad (his girlfriend, burlesque dancer Sheila Hafsadi, gave birth to a boy last July): “My son Monroe is wonderful. I am constantly kissing him and I can’t wait for him to call me ‘Daddy.’ Nikki is my son’s godmother. My son has given me reason to keep working; he really inspires me. Fatherhood is pure love.”

• On what he learned from the Saga: “I will definitely miss the camaraderie. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to have worked with the best in the industry, with four different directors and co-stars who have become not just friends but like family.”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)