Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart 2018: Exes’ 1st Meeting & Audition Oozed with ‘Electricity and Chemistry,’ Says ‘Twilight’ Director

If there is someone who has always known that the love team of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart would be a worldwide movie hit, it has to be “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke. She recently recalled that the exes showed great chemistry immediately in their first meeting, which also happened to be an audition for the movie.

Ten years since “Twilight” originally premiered, Hardwicke still stands by the great chemistry she witnessed between Pattinson and Stewart. So it is no surprise that the actors went on to put faces on Edward Cullen and Bella Swan — the main characters of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” books, which were all adapted into films.

“You could just tell that they were intensely fascinated by each other. You know? I saw that right there in my own living room [at the first chemistry read,]” Hardwicke told Us Weekly recently.

Hardwicke added that their chemistry was so convincing in the audition that she felt compelled to warn Pattinson not to pursue a relationship with Kristen, who was a minor at the time. “I think when Kristen walked away I said, ‘Now, Rob, I want you to know, Kristen is underage. She is 17 and in our country, illegal,” the director recalled.

The audition, which involved enacting some select scenes between Bella and Edward, happened at Hardwicke’s own home in 2007. At the time, Stewart was just 17 years old and Pattinson was 21.

The director also shared that one of the scenes they did in her home — exactly in her kitchen — was the movie’s biology class sequence. This was crucial to the vampire-themed movie because this was the time Stewart’s and Pattinson’s characters first met.

Hardwicke told PEOPLE she sensed Stewart and Pattinson were “a little bit nervous and awkward” at first. But they were “vibing off of each other” as soon as they started doing the read of the biology class scene. “It was pretty positive. After the end of their audition, I could tell that there was a lot of electricity and chemistry,” Hardwick added.

Fans might be wondering why Catherine Hardwick is suddenly going down memory lane about Pattinson and Stewart’s first meeting. This is because “Twilight” will be back on the big screen on Oct. 21 and 23 as part of the film's 10th-anniversary celebration. Also on Oct. 23, fans can start buying a 4K Ultra HD copy of the movie.