James Franco Could Have Been a Background Extra in Breaking Dawn

By now, you most likely know that James Franco is an unabashed fan of Twilight, so much so that he extolled the series' virtues to Esquire and confessed to petitioning for a role in Breaking Dawn while visiting Jimmy Kimmel Live! What you probably don't know is that the Oscar-nominated actor/serial multi-tasker could have actually snagged a part in the franchise if he was willing to make a few movie star concessions.

As part of the lead-up to Breaking Dawn, director Bill Condon spoke to MTV and confessed that he seriously considered casting Franco in his upcoming blockbuster.

"He told a friend of mine who then sent a message along to me," Condon explained. "For a moment it was like, what could James Franco play that doesn't feel like 'Where's Waldo?' I really thought about it for a second, and nothing made sense."

The only roles open to Franco would have been as one of the new vampires in the covens who come to support the Cullens against the Volturi, and Condon felt that between Franco's star power and his busy schedule, it would not have been a good fit.

"I think he thinks this somehow involves some big rejection of the idea. It wasn't that," Condon explained. "If it had made sense, and frankly if I had called and said 'do you want to play that vampire from that country,' it would have involved hanging around for two months in a scene with 80 people, and I don't know if he really would have wanted to do it."

So there you have it. Franco could have been a small part of Breaking Dawn, but unfortunately it sounds as though Condon just assumed the actor wouldn't have been interested in the role -- even in spite of his proclivity for bizarre career choices, like that recurring General Hospital arc... or hosting the Oscars... or the whole NYU thing...

· 'Breaking Dawn' Didn't 'Make Sense' For James Franco, Director Says [MTV]