Broadway actress Lisa Howard is making her film debut in Breaking Dawn Part 2, the final installment in the uber-popular Twilight series. Howard plays Siobhan, the leader of the Irish Coven, a group vampires who work with Bella (Kristen Stewart), Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) to defeat the corrupt vampire leaders, the Volturi.
“It might be the best one of the whole series,” Howard told Broadway.com. “What [director] Bill Condon did is pretty great. There are definitely some surprises.”
As a veteran of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Howard is no stranger to eccentric costumes, and the actress was more than happy to play dress up as a vampire. “I loved the wig they put me in,” she said of her sinister look. “Once you get those [red] contacts in, it does most of the characterization work for you. It took a while to get into hair and makeup everyday, but obviously it was well worth it.”
Though she joined the franchise late in the game, Howard didn’t need a Twilight crash course to catch up on all the supernatural romance and action. “I have read all the [books] and loved them. Being a fan of the movies already it was surreal actually standing [on set] in the Cullens’ house.”
The movie culminates in a giant battle between the Cullens and thier allies against the Volturi as the villianous group tries to hunt down Edward and Bella’s daughter Renesmee. “It’s really cool what they did with the special effects and there is a twist, but I don’t want to say too much,” she teased of the finale. So if Howard were to find herself in an epic vampire battle which of her co-stars would she want on her side? “Rob, because he’s taller than Taylor!”
Breaking Dawn isn’t the only big project on the horizon for Howard. She’s set to lead It Shoulda Been You, a new musical directed by David Hyde Pierce that’s aiming for a Broadway bow next fall. “It’s pretty much a dream role,” she said of her character Jenny, who must deal with the wacky antics that ensue at her sister’s wedding. “So fingers crossed that it will happen next year!”
Breaking Dawn Part 2 hits theaters November 16. Check out the trailer below!