Exclusive: ‘New Moon’s’ Alex Meraz on Bella’s Slap and More
Since The Twilight Saga: New Moon is all about the rise of the werewolf – in the form of its bare-chested, strapping young Quileuete Indian protectors – we seized the chance to speak with the most volatile member of the Wolf Pack. As Paul, newcomer Alex Meraz adds a hot-blooded physicality that leads to one of New Moon’s best moments – a surprise showdown in which Bella (Kristen Stewart) finds herself caught between two raging wolves. Find out more about Meraz, the slap heard ‘round the Twi-verse, and how the Native American actor thinks the Twilight films serve the Native American community.
You stand out among the Wolf Pack because of your scene with Bella – the slap heard ‘round the world, so to speak. Tell me how that scene went down.
Alex Meraz: It was exciting. Even just in the casting of it, I just really liked Paul. What happened with the casting process is, we sent in our information and through that they were going to break it down. I sent it in and started reading New Moon while I was waiting and I really liked Paul because of that scene, and I really like bad boys and he’s kind of the bad boy of the Wolf Pack. I got the chance to audition and I got that role, saw the script and was blown away by it. I knew it was the first transformation you were going to see in the movie, and it’s definitely a scene that stands out. There was pressure to make sure it looked good, but I knew I was in good hands – Chris Weitz is just an amazing director, and Phil Tippett who did the special effects was going to make me look awesome. So it was fun.
What scene did you perform in your audition?
They gave us stuff from the book that wasn’t even in the script – there’s a kitchen scene at Emily’s when we figure out that it’s Victoria killing people on the reservation, and that’s when we set up a game plan. It was that scene.
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