Alex Meraz made his first appearance in the Twilight films in New Moon, where he played Paul, a friend of werewolf Jacob Black, who also happened to be a werewolf himself. Alex returns for the role of Paul in the third film, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and he was recently in London to talk about the film, along with his training at wolf camp and his crazy fan experiences.
Can you tell us a little bit about the training you went through for the fight scenes in Eclipse?
Alex Meraz (AM): We did what’s now called wolf camp. We did muscle confusion...
Muscle confusion?
AM: Yeah, it’s confusing! It’s like circuit training. But more than anything, what it helped to do was just bond us. We got really comfortable around each other and there are scenes when we’re just goofing off the whole time. We couldn’t tell when the camera started and when it was called “cut”. So, we were always having a great time. But it was a fun experience. But the workouts at wolf camp were kind of forgettable, I guess. I had been working out a bit before because my background is in martial arts and dance. So, it was a pretty organic process to go in there and take my shirt off.
What is it about this series that audiences love about vampires, mysticism and the undead?
AM: I think you said it, love. At the root of every great story is a love story. There’s definitely elements of fantasy within the werewolves, shape-shifters and vampires, but at the end of the day it’s grounded in reality and there’s the love story. I think everyone can relate to that. They know how it is to feel unrequited love, jealousy, revenge, loyalty, having to make choices... I think this film definitely covers all that.
What’s the craziest fan experience you’ve had?
AM: I think it was last year, when we were promoting New Moon, we did this big Q&A in Los Angeles and the whole cast was behind this cage and all the fans were there. Everyone else was sort of turned away from the fans, and I was the only one doing the whole prom thing and waving. And then I saw this fan with a bouquet of flowers and a teddy bear, and she was like, “Come here!” In my mind, I was thinking, “Oh, she shouldn’t have...” So, I go up to her and she was like, “Give it to Kellan!”