ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: It�s probably been crazy for you lately, running around to premieres everywhere.
ALEX MERAZ: Yeah, it has been actually. Meeting a lot of fans and shaking a lot of different hands. So there�s been a lot of hand sanitizer.
Were you a fan of the books before you got the role?
No. I didn�t really know what it was. I�d go to Borders in Arizona and see it everywhere, because the writer [Stephenie Meyer] is from there. I remember seeing these pasty hands and a red apple. And I didn�t even know what it was until after it came out and it was [successful]. And then thought, I�d like to try out for the next role.
What about the movie made you want to be a part of the franchise?
The fact that it�s the first time you see Natives portrayed in a contemporary setting. It�s not a period piece. I had been doing other independent films and things like that where I�m in a breechcloth running around on horseback hooting and hollering. There was something just really cool to know that it�s a global sensation, and now Natives are going to have the spotlight.
You are Native American, so this is probably refreshing.
It definitely was. I personally was shocked when I heard that the books had a huge Native component in them. It was the whole part of the wolf pack, and I didn�t know how big the wolf pack was until I read about it. I was just shocked that people were interested, you know what I mean? So I thought, �Wow, that�s amazing. I totally want to be part of something like that.�
What did you have to do for your audition? Did you perform a certain scene?
Well, first I went out for Sam Uley, the wolf pack leader. We did this whole scene from the book that they took out, because they weren�t releasing anything from the script. So it was a scene where we�re at Emily�s house and we discover Victoria � who�s a vampire � had been killing on the reservation. So we figure out who�s been killing all these people and hikers and bikers on the reservation, and we figure out it�s a vampire. So it was that scene, and I had to kind of like play a quarterback and tell people what they needed to do. The hard thing about that, in the book, Sam is described as 6�4� and with a deep voice. You know, like a leader. And I�m 5�11?. I don�t have a deep voice. So I was trying to act like something bigger. Then luckily enough, Joseph said, �Let�s try this.� And he gave me one single line. He gave me a [lede-in], �Come in Bella, we won�t bite.� And I had to look at the camera and say, �Speak for yourself.� But the way I did it, it was so naughty. I blew a kiss, gave a little wink. Like, really naughty. And it was based off of that one line that I got the role of Paul.
Just that one line, huh?
Yeah, �cause, you know, I showed my acting chops, I guess. [Laughs] It was cool. I was really happy. It was a very organic process. And when I read the books, I was ecstatic. That�s the kind of role that I�d rather play. Something more naughty and exciting. A bad boy, you know?
Did you do anything to prepare for the role before auditioning?
I was so invested. I worked really hard working out. I gained 20 pounds just to do the audition.
So all of you bulked up.
I can�t speak for the other guys. I think Chaske [Spencer] bulked up, because he used to be really thin, but he bulked up like an alpha male. But for myself, I totally did just for the audition. Because I saw pictures of Taylor and I thought, holy crap, I�ve got to beef up. He went all out. And you never know, because the camera makes people look big, and I wasn�t sure how big he was, but I didn�t want to take a chance. I wanted to look comparable. That�s what I had in my mind: The way he looks, that�s the way they�re going to cast the rest of the wolf pack.
Going into the film, you knew people were crazy about this franchise, right?
Yeah. I definitely did, for sure. I knew it was a huge phenomenon. And then you worry, �I hope they embrace me.� Because the other downside to that is, the fans, they�ve been reading these books, and they fantasize what the characters look like already. So if you don�t match up to their ideas of who the characters are, they�ll derail you. They�ll bad-mouth you online. It was like that with Rob [Pattinson], too. They didn�t like the way that Rob looked. But I had an understanding, which was, once they see it in context, once the movie comes out, they�ll get it. They won�t be imagining anything else. They�re going to see what is there. Because that�s what happened with Twilight. They hated Rob [before], then they saw the movie, and now Rob�s the biggest heartthrob ever.
Did fans criticize you at first?
I read a couple of things. The first month, you obsessively go online and Google yourself. And [director] Chris Weitz, he gave us a bit of advice. He said, �Alright, I�ve got to say this. I know you�re going to do it: Just go online for the first month and get it out of your system. Google yourself, but then stop. Because then, what�s going to happen is you�re going to be getting really mad about something that a 12-year-old is writing online.� And it�s true. The first month, I did it, and I got a lot of good response. Then I started getting other ones that were just wild. Like, �He totally shouldn�t be Paul. He doesn�t look like Paul. He looks like too much of a nice guy.�
Well, that�s not too bad. You look like a nice guy!
Well, I just thought, �It�s called acting, sweetie.� That�s when you start talking back to your computer, and you�re like, �wait a minute. This is wrong.�
What kind of fan interactions have you had at this point?
It�s been really great. I�m just always grateful when I meet fans. The premiere was Monday, and Friday was the first night people started coming out. So I went out there and met with some of the fans that were camping out. Because it�s always nice to see something like that.
They must have been psyched to see you.
Yeah. It�s funny, because I joked around with a fan who was shocked that I was there. Like, �What are you doing here?� I said, �I don�t know! I went around the corner to get some milk, and I ended up running into this!� But it was cool. I took my time to sign autographs. I�m just very grateful and excited that the fans are there. It�s a built-in fanbase. It�s a hot skillet we�re walking into.
And now that the movie�s set box-office records, even more people are going to start recognizing you.
I�ve already been experiencing it. I go out to get something, and you hear people whispering.
Is that going to get old?
I don�t know. The thing is, me, I�m so paranoid just because when I hear people talking like that, I think something�s going on. I forget that I�m in a big movie. I hope I get used to it in that sense, so I don�t have to feel like I have toilet paper hanging from the back of my shoe.
So you just finished filming Eclipse.
Yeah. We don�t know when Breaking Dawn is going to happen. Especially now. It�s been a crazy month and a half of doing promotion for this movie. And I�m thinking, �well, we still have the next one to do.� I don�t really want to know about Breaking Dawn right now. I�m just taking one movie at a time.
What�s next for you after the saga ends?
Before I got New Moon, I�d fight to get auditions. Now I have so many coming my way. I�m happy about that. I actually want to do an action film. I used to be one of those guys that wanted to do wordy actor-y kind of movies. But now, after seeing New Moon, and realizing that you can be something bigger-than-life, transforming into a massive wolf, I�m like, wow, I want to do an action film. Because my background is in martial arts. So anything that involves me holding a gun and killing a crapload of people sounds like a lot of fun.
So that means you�re going to have to stay bulked up.
I�m sure every film it�s going to be like, �Okay, this is the scene where your shirt gets ripped off.� I�ll never be able to keep my shirt on.
Photo Credit: Kimberley French
Source: Entertainment Weekly
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