Kristen Stewart: Dakota Fanning ‘Straight Up Scary’ as Jane in ‘New Moon’

The Twilight Saga: New Moon marks the first appearance of the Volturi, the closest the vampire world has to royalty and a major force in the future of the saga. Centuries old and unimaginably powerful, they serve as lawmakers and enforcers for the community.

Dakota Fanning plays Jane, a very scary member of the Volturi, in New Moon. Kristen Stewart, who had met Fanning before her involvement with the film said:

Dakota is straight-up scary and mean as Jane. She’s one of the most impressive people and actors I’ve ever met. She’s really got a presence that you just don’t mess with. And you wouldn’t expect that, because she’s a little girl. She’s one of the best young actresses around, and I’m excited that I got to work with her.

The leader of the Volturi is Aro, played by Michael Sheen. Sheen is no stranger to this world, having played a werewolf enslaved by the vampires in the Underworld series.

Sheen developed a distinct vocalization for Aro, higher pitched and more precise than his normal speaking voice. In fact, Sheen says, he unconsciously channeled the scary, psychedelic, music-hating, color-sapping Blue Meanies of Yellow Submarine fame when voicing Aro.

There was a moment where I suddenly thought, ‘Oh, I sound a little bit like the Blue Meanies,’” he says. “I found them really disturbing when I was a kid, so I thought that was a good thing.

While all the Volturi are formidable, perhaps the most fearsome is the character Jane who is played by Dakota Fanning.  Jane is a sweet-faced, innocent-looking vampire who can—and does—inflict pain merely by willing it.  Fanning said playing Jane was fun:

I’ve never really gotten to play a bad guy before, but in this one, I play a bad girl —or vampire—and it was really fun. Plus, I was a really big fan of the books, I read all four of them in about a week, so it was thrilling to be asked to be a part of the film.

I got to wear red contact lenses, which were cool and changed the whole look of everything, literally. And the white make-up—I thought I was pale before, but now I realize, by comparison to a vampire, I’m actually quite tan.

Are you getting excited for the release of the Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD this weekend?

Meet the Volturi – A special preview from The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Photo: Kimberley French  © 2009 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved