By Nathan Duke
Ozone−Park−born thespian Peter Facinelli will be seen on screens across the country later this month in one of the fall’s most anticipated films. The actor said the role of Dr. Carlisle Cullen, in director Catherine Hardwicke’s “Twilight,” was one into which he could really sink his teeth.
But Bella finds out that her paramour and his family, led by Facinelli’s Carlisle Cullen, are vampires. The Cullens decide to protect Bella when she becomes the target of a rival vampire clan.
Facinelli, 34, who grew up in Ozone Park and attended St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, said he drew inspiration for his role as the Cullens’ patriarch from his marriage to actress Jennie Garth and being a father.
The only discrepancies between the actor and his character are a thirst for blood and an age difference of 300 years.
“Being a father is easy to translate to film because I’m a father of three already,” he said. “The difficult aspect is that the character I play is 350 years old. I read a number of history books to see what he saw in his lifetime.”
Dr. Carlisle Cullen was born in England and lived in Chicago and New York before moving his clan to overcast Forks, Wash., where their light skin tone would not contrast with others. The family feeds on animal, not human, blood.
“They are very pale, so if they lived in California they would stand out,” he said. “But they can go out during the day. The sun doesn’t affect them — their skin appears translucent.”
Facinelli said his character was not a villain, despite his being among the film’s walking dead. He said Cullen turned his fellow clan members into vampires because they were each in danger of losing their lives when they crossed his path.
“He turned the characters [into vampires] to save their lives — he’s a doctor,” Facinelli said. “He gave them eternity because they were all banged up. He’s a compassionate and sympathetic man.”
“Twilight,” shot earlier this year in Portland, Ore., will be released nationwide Nov. 21. The film has been hyped as one of the fall’s potential blockbusters.
Facinelli said he was a fan of Meyer’s four novels and that he hopes “Twilight” will launch a film franchise as the Harry Potter novels have.
“I hope people go to see it, they like it and want more,” he said. “I’d love to make more of the films and would love to see more on a fan−based level. No one has been signed on yet [for a second film], but hopefully the film will be popular enough to warrant making more.”
Facinelli is also currently working on the new Showtime series “Nurse Jackie,” a hospital ensemble drama that stars Edie Falco of “The Sopranos.” The pilot episode will likely air in early 2009 and filming for the show will begin this month, said Facinelli, who plays a doctor on the show.
Facinelli said he grew up near 77th Street and 101st Avenue in Ozone Park and that his parents were longtime Queens residents who recently moved to Long Island. The actor, who studied theater at New York University and moved to Los Angeles at age 21, said he still keeps in touch with people from his old neighborhood.
“Some of my closest friends are still the ones I grew up with,” he said. “There’s a bond when you grow up in Queens — your friends are more like family.”
