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Seemingly overnight, Robert Pattinson went from playing Voldemort’s roadkill in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to being the immortal half of one of the hottest screen couples of all time. He spoke with TIME about how he landed the role of Twilight’s Byronic vampire Edward Cullen, what it’s like to be a generational crush and how to walk unmolested along the streets of Vancouver.

TIME: You took on an edgy vampire movie and it’s become this. Did you know what you were signing up for?

Robert Pattinson: I had no idea it was going to be like this. I really had no idea until… I guess I still don’t. The time that it hit me really was when we were shooting in Italy and the emotional reaction — it wasn’t just screaming. It was like people were so intently listening and watching. After every take there was polite applause. And it wasn’t hysteria. It was literally devotion to the characters. It was amazing. I haven’t felt that in any other situation.

Casting Edward was crucial to the franchise. What did Catherine Hardwicke see in you?

I don’t know. I was a little intimidated by Kristen in my audition. So I played it like a guy who is beating himself up a lot about everything. I don’t think anyone else did it like that. I think they concentrated on the confidence aspect. If you read the book, you know he’s the perfect man, ideal man. If you’re a guy you have certain ideals about what you think is attractive. And that’s why I didn’t go into it for ages, because I thought I’d end up being silly in the audition. I’d be posing. I guess I tried to ignore every aspect of the confident hero of the story. And I played the extreme opposite. It didn’t end up being that in the film.

If they’d cast the other guy for Edward, would the franchise have been as successful as it is today?

I honestly don’t know. No matter how famous I get as an individual, it’s always evened — or even surpassed — by the fame of Edward Cullen. That’s got to mean something. I don’t mind that. That’s just the way it is.

Why are America and the world so mental about it?

I was just in Japan, but when I first went there in February, the people who went to the fan events there were mainly people who went to American schools. This time it was entirely Japanese the audience. No one could really speak English, but they reacted in the same way as they have around the world. Even the distributor was saying, Japanese audiences don’t react like this. And they were stunned by the whole thing.

There must be this weird, primal thing in people that they react to. There are so many love stories that come out. So many vampire stories that come out. Even the load of vampire stories coming out now have the exact same story line. This doesn’t have the same reaction. I think it’s all about being part of a club. People used to say it was a guilty pleasure. But I don’t even think it is that anymore. I think people genuinely appreciate that they are part of something.

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New Moon, the second chapter of The Twilight Saga, begins with every teen girl’s favorite vampire, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), breaking his beloved Bella’s heart, sending her on a downward spiral she only narrowly survives. I sat down with Pattinson recently to discuss the movie, sudden fame, and why he relates so New Moon, the second chapter of The Twilight Saga, begins with every teen girl’s favorite vampire, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), breaking his beloved Bella’s heart, sending her on a downward spiral she only narrowly survives. I sat down with Pattinson recently to discuss the movie, sudden fame, and why he relates so well to Edward.

Cole Haddon: In New Moon, Edward Cullen, after having personally exiled himself from Bella’s life, spends most of the story … well, not in it. Except for visions Bella (Kristen Stewart) has, that is. Did that leave you feeling disconnected from your cast mates at all?

Robert Pattinson: Those scenes, [the visions], were the hardest scenes. They weren’t really at the time, but after I saw the first cut of the movie, [the filmmakers] changed them quite a bit in the editing room and with ADR. It’s not [technically] Edward [either]. It’s a manifestation of Bella’s loneliness and desperation. As for being alone, I’ve always felt a little bit aloof as the character, throughout the whole series. I think that’s how he is, so I didn’t feel any different.

CH: Did you agree with the decision to make Edward appear as a vision to Bella, rather than just a voice as it is in the novel?

RP: I was always very worried about that. Even before we started shooting, people were asking questions and saying, “Oh, are you worried that people will think there’s not enough Edward in it?” But he’s not in the book. I was [more] worried that it was just going to be random scenes. There was talk, at the beginning, of showing his backstory in South America, going around moping [after his breakup with Bella]. That would have been terrifying for me, and I think it would have been catastrophic for the film as well. I fought as far as I could to keep it as limited as possible, mainly because it just doesn’t happen in the book. But then, at the same time, it’s scary just to do a voice-over, because it could end up being very cheesy.

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Robert Pattinson chats to Penny Smith about  The New Moon on GMTV

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