The Australian radio show Hot30 has the first ever interview with the newly cast Riley in Eclipse, who will be played by Aussie newcomer Xavier Samuel.
The interview with 25-year old Xavier begins at around 7:30 in the audio, where he confirms that he will indeed play Riley. Here’s what else we learn–
- It’s his first American film role
- He made his initial audition tape in Sydney, then flew to Vancouver and LA to meet the crew, and just found out yesterday that he landed the role
- Xavier watched Twilight for the first time during the plane trip to North America
You can download the show as a podcast in iTunes (Friday July 17th Episode), as an mp3, or listen to a flash version on the Hot30 website.
Xavier tells the Daily Telegraph that he hasn’t started reading the books yet, and plans to begin immediately. He says that–
I’m in a bit of a daze but it’s a wonderful bit of news,” Samuel exclusively told Confidential from Los Angeles last night.
You can also see more photos of Xavier at JustJaredJr.
Check after the break for the official news release from Summit, which is written by Steven Zeitchik of The Hollywood Reporter.
Google might want to brace for a search onslaught: An unknown Australian actor named Xavier Samuel has landed the first new role in “Eclipse,” the third “Twilight” pic.
Summit has hired the actor to play the role of a “newborn vampire” named Riley, a good-looking college student who joins the plot of villain Victoria to murder protagonist Bella (Kristen Stewart). Riley is corrupted by Victoria, for whom he has an inexplicable weakness.
The movie’s larger plot centers on a choice Bella must make between the werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner) and the vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson).
Samuel, repped by Management 360, Gersh and Shanahan in Australia, has been in series of films down under, including “Newcastle,” in which he played a Goth teenager amidst a group of surfers (the movie played Tribeca last year — though you can bet Netflix will see just a small spike now), the Aussie period drama “September” and the upcoming sci-fi thriller “Road Train.” This marks his first U.S. role.
“Eclipse,” the third book in Stephenie Meyer’s blockbuster series, is set
to begin shooting next month in Vancouver and be released on June 30. David Slade (“30 Days of Night”) is directing from a screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg.The Twilight franchise will become the center of the fan universe at Comic-Con next week when the stars of the second pic — the Chris Weitz-directed “New Moon” — appear, new material is unveiled and the crowd goes wild. The Samuel family is probably about to see a little frenzy itself.
[thanks, Elise!]
Official Eclipse Illustrated Companion
New Book by Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse Soundtrack
Eclipse Score
Buy New Moon on DVD!
Twilight Journals
New Moon "Team Jacob" Book Edition with Poster
New MoonMovie Edition Paperback
New Moon Soundtrack
{ 159 comments… read them below or add one }
First!!
OMG!!!!!!!!!!OMG OMG OMG OMG!!! I'M FIRST!!! I'M NEVER FIRST!!!!!! EVER!!!
*does happy dance*
*looks around*
hello!
*realizes that there is nobody posting comments*
*looks down feeling stupid*
i'm first on a post that nobody is making comments on……..wow……. thats sure impresive.
Yess!
And an Australian, thats awesome! Living in Oz, its good news
And the Hot30 is Australian
This day is making me veeeery happy!
he would make such a good Riely. he's just how i pictured him. but he needs to be better looking……. not saying that he is bad now or anything, just that he could be better. haha
Congrats on first lol =)
That's not how I pictured him, but I can adjust
He does look like he'd suit Riley, he wont disappoint
He looks like a perfect Riley.
And I guess its good hes from aus. Close to home in a way.
Good on him
let me guess….. you like australians!! wow. i'm a good guesser!
thank you!!
Lolz, I am Australian
lol no he wont. i can't belive i'm STILL on this site. its midnight where i'm at. lol
that would explain why you like australians. lol
Wow, it's grey face land in here! (no offense meant)
Quick turn around time on the news if he just found out yesterday himself!
Interesting that he hasn't read the books yet, but we've had good luck so far with our stars knowing nothing about the series before being cast: Taylor, Rob, I'm sure others too.
I'm just glad he's planning to read them instead of relying solely on the script.
I'm sure it'll make for a better performance. So far I highly approve of him! Can't wait to see if he delivers!!!
lol =P
Congrats on the first!
*happy dances with Rosie*
Don't feel bad, it's late in the U.S.–4:45 am where I am.
Plus it's gonna take everyone awhile to remember to check here frequently.
They'll all be kicking themselves when they realize they missed it!
You should get yourself an avatar girl!!
i don't know how. lol. and i'm to tired to figure it out. haha
*gasps*…
Grey faces.. everywhere… wow… never seen so many!
Now that I look at him straight on (well.. the picture) his nose is crooked..
Would a vampire (who are supposed to be the definition of beauty) have a crooked nose?
S Meyer states symmetry so often in her writing about the looks of vampires.
Well, when you aren't so sleepy…just go to your Disqus home page, click on “account” then “profile” then you can upload any picture from your computer as your userpic.
Hope that helps!
ya. someone else tried to explain it to me and i was completly lost. thanks!!!
Hey, I tried getting an avatar
and it sed it worked..but clearly it hasnt :S
You got it! Good job! LOL
Nice choice of pic too. Yum!!!
Robs face isn't symmetrical.
I think it's impossible for anyone to have a symmetrical face.
IT WORKED!! thanks so much. i've been feeling so stupid.
*runs up and hugs JIMH*
* backs away when i realize JIMH is giving me a wied look*
haha sorry. i usually overreact when i figure these things out. haha
thats what happend with me the first twenty times i've tried it. make sure you press change. well… that was i was doing wrong. haha
why are you talking about rob on a non-rob related post. haha
its 2:00 where i'm at. lol
-.-
not funny.
No problem!
Especially since you seem to be a pack girl
*hugs Rosie back*
I can call you Rosie, right?
i know!!! team paulex all the way!!! i love him!! haha
ya sure. whatever floats your boat.lol. and i don't just SEEM to be a pack girl i AM a pack girl. haha
Then you should get some sleep!
Me, myself and I are going to bed now to have sweet Taylor dreams!
Night!
I hope you have happy Paulex dreams
(if you didn't mean 2am, then this doesn't make much sense, but oh well!)
LOL
Hey JIMH!!
Your still up?? I thought you would have gone to bed ages ago!
Most of the contributors at this hour are us Aussies and New Zealanders. There is rarely new 'news' at this time.
It will be very interesting to see if Xavier makes a good Riley. I dont see why not. Its not such a big part, mostly just a big fight and then he gets ripped to pieces. Cant wait to see that!!!!! LOL.
(Mabinda)
sorry i love to laugh. its just that was………..very……..random. lol and i never noticed that his face wasn't symmetrical.
*goes to look at a pic of rob*
* see's it and suddenly has the erge to find somthing better to look at, like alex*
thats probably why i never notice.lol
Just saw the new pic up the top of the page with Bella, Jacob and Edward. Looks great. I love Jake with his hair long.
haha ya i ment 2:00 am. thats a good idea…sleep. lol i should try it sometime.
why are you talking about alex on a non-alex related post?
HA HA.
HA.
Thanxx =)
He looks like he could do a good sneer. I imagine Riley sneering. I don't know why.
He looks young too & like he could play gullible. I think Riley should look gullible.
How does someone look gullible? I don't know.
Congrats on your big break xavier.
im so happy for him …. i think he will be the perfect cast for riley !!!
Riley should definitely look gullible. First the poor boy is killed/made into a vampire and then the 'lovely' Victoria tricks him into believing she loves him, only to have him do her dirty work!
Silly gullible Riley!!
From first look, I think that this guy might be pretty good. Obviously, none of know anything of his acting skills, so he could suck. But I trust the casting people for these movies. I like the job they've done so far.
you do? i hate it. it looks so… fake.
Yeah I love it. I know Taylor's not Indian but i've loved that look ever since Last of the Mohican's. O M C did you see those boy's!!
I think he's adorable and I also think Summit did that sh*t on purpose so we all feel even more sorry for him when he makes the wrong decision in Eclipse, when Edward is trying to convince him he doesn't have to follow Victoria…
Less than a month till filming starts!!!
*jumps up and down and does happy dance*
I guess he will do for Riley….he's got such a baby face. I'm hoping the more I see of him, the more I will like him.
I agree with Sparks that he definitely looks like he could pull off a good sneer!! It kind of looks like the beginning of one in the pic above.
Hope he has good chemistry with Rachelle!
im sorry but im still in shock this dude is 25!! he luks 18!!lol
if you want to see more of Xavier you can check out his movie Newcastle here…
http://www.fastpasstv.com/newcastle-2008
he's the goth kid
OR YOU CAN ALSO FIND HIS MOVIE HERE
http://watch-movies.ro/movie/newcastle_(2008)
This guy is too old and stupid. He is 25 for god sake. He is only supposed to be 20! He will never do a proper job. He will ruin everything.
You have to give credit to the casting department, they get it every time, to me is like they pull the characters out of the pages. Bravo casting department bravo.
I see Victoria as a cult leader she manipulates those to her will, and Riley fits the describition, now one will feel sorry for him if Victoria attacked him against his will or did he sign up.
Definitely agree with ya vampgirl… they have not disappointed me yet.
if he were more blonde, does anyone else see declan from 'kyle XY' in this kid?
i really think he fits the look of that part!!
(even if he hasn't read the books yet and is wearing a yoko ono shirt in the picture above. lol)
lol. “silly gullible riley! trix are for kids!”
sorry. i just heard that in my head when i read that. haha.
GOOD ONE! lol
*high fives ILCW*
It is impossible to have a symmetrical face. No ones face is symmetrical. Thats why you always here people say shoot me from my left or right side. It's because that side of their face looks better than the other.
…
Taylor is not native american?
Thats kind of… hypocritical of the team.. casting only native americans for the roles in New Moon and Eclipse.
What is he then?
That is good news! Maybe they'll have a premier here…in Sydney hopefully!
And another Aussie is big!!! Good on ya mate! He looks hot too so he will fit in with the cast perfectly. Lol.
I always imagined Riley as someone like Tom Felton from HP but I guess he's too busy with the last 2 installments. But I'm sure the costume and makeup department can make this guy look like Riley.
I think this guy looks like a girl…but doesn't matter to me..he dies!!
But you can look symmetrical.
Xavier is cute, and attractive. But Rob is more symmetrical than Xavier. It was simply an observation.
But the fact of the matter is, a lot of asymmetrical things look symmetrical to the human eye. So a lot of humans are off only a slight amount, but look symmetrical.
I am in no way insulting Xavier. I think he is rather attractive.
It was just my first reaction to thinking of him as a vampire.
“He is mostly French, Dutch, and German, and claims some Native American (specifically Ottawa and Potawatomi) ancestry through his mother”…
He may not be full, but he has some.
I always pictured Tom as Alec.
All posts are Rob related. Duh.
This is not how I pictured Riley… We'll have to see how he looks in costume.
guys wen ya think bout it this guy isnt even gona be on screen 4 5mins!!lol im sure with hair and costume and stuff hel be fine!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!
i wanted channing!! “/
LMAO!! i loveee your user name
*punk a werewolf* LMAO
but umm they are shape shifters! lol but still love it
TEAM EDWARD B*TCHESSSS =)
Rumor has it that Whitney Huston is the only person in the world with a perfectly symmetrical face. Lol. Lucky her i guess.
“…it’s a wonderful bit of news.” Man, biggest understatement ever! I don't think he knows what he's got himself into.
Yeah, lucky her. she probably looks good from every angle
Haha,
trust me. I know.
I am the one who always corrects my friends.
But … even twilightlexicon.com calls them werewolves.
They call themselves werewolves so much, and shape shifters what.. thrice?
I just give up on the battle and go mainstream.
Plus, Punch a Werewolf sounds better than Punch a Shape Shifter.
Well you must have done something because I don't see too many grey faces now. You helped one grey face get a pic and that helped many. (The grey faces freak me out. You also don't know if they're a wolf girl or a vamp girl.
) So thanks … for making em.org a better place. haha 
lol yeah & they call themselves “EXPERTS”
woo hoo as long as you dont punch my Seth, then im all right =)
but i can do more than to punch Paul & Jake LMAO
let's f*ck the sh*t out of them
LMAO
Agreed with you FL95!
And Will…..Loving the background on the site….its looking amazing!
Yep, I agree with you about the casting people, I totally trust them! I hope he will do good job. And I think he's pretty handsome;)
Chill, gray face. How would you know that “He will never do a proper job.”?
Let me remind you. Rob is 23 this year. Edward is 17. Well, frozen at 17.
Age gap? 6 years.
Xavier is 25. Riley is about 20.
Age gap? 5 years.
That makes Rob slightly older than the character he is acting as when compared to Xavier.
And Rob did an incredible job as Edward in the Twilight movie. How would YOU know that this guy will “never do a better job” just because he's “too old”?
my newly aquired avitar is alex. and i was talking about it.
wait. so are you a wolf girl or do you like sparkly men. i'm confused!
Well said…and please everyone-lets remember the horrible RANTS that everyone made when they hired Rob to play Edward…no one wanted him-and well,
And look how well that turned out!!!!
Dear Twi-Hards
Don't try to reason with a grey face, it is pointless. This same thing happened when Michael Sheen was cast as Aro, okay there were alot of happy including myself. But the Grey faces who kept saying it should had been Ben Barnes, when it was said from the get go it was just a rumor not fact, they throw a hissy fit, they wanted Ben and now we have the same scenerio with Channing, when that too was a rumor. You know the defination of a rumor don't you? than you beileve that there is a Robsten baby on the way. Just as you believed that Ben Barnes was up for the role of Aro and Channing Tatum was up for the role of Riley.
Oh yeah and I hear Elvis is replacing Daniel Cudrup as Felix.
EXACTLY! That's my point.
“Don't judge a book by its cover” is a very common saying…
I'm not surprised.
Ah so Tay does have Native american ancestary.
I'm itching to see Seth and Leah, I may pull an Alice and know who they may get for her, no not VH don't panic, that chick from the New World. Hopefully we get Sue too, I mean she is going to be Bella's future step mother.
lol. really? cause i think janis joplin is now jane, and curt cobain is caius!
yeah, you're right though. i'm finding out more and more that the sour apples all happen to be grey…
“Patience is not my specialty.” Thus says Jacob.
Come to think of it. I've ticked off 3 gray faces this week. (Look up for the 3rd one) Their hissy fits are beginning to get on my nerves.
lol. Elvis…
btw it's Daniel Cudmore. Not Cudrup… 
I heard Madonna is replacing Kristen as Bella.
Ish…
No, me niether…just like with Edward, everyone had their “ideal” in their head-I didn't picture Riley this way-but geez, at least give him a chance before you talk chit.
I think he looks perfect, and I'm so thrilled he is a low key actor. The beauty of these films is, despite the budget they are STILL using fresh actors.
With the announcement of Riley being cast. I wonder how close we are to hearing about Seth and Leah. I am on pin and needles for them!
One Tree Hill fans, Xavier really reminds me of a younger Keith Scott.
no doubt. gotcha.
Well said. Chit. lol.
Give Xavier a chance, people! He hasn't even started with Eclipse yet. And there are already people saying that “he will never do a proper job”. (look up at 'that' gray face;s comment) *does the Jacob eye roll*
It's Britney Spears that replacing Kristen, oh and Leonardo Dicaprio is taken over for Robert.
I don't mind if it's a known actor or newcomer, see they did brilliant for Jane, to tell you the truth I picked Dakota, a long time before Summit. So her casting didn't bother me one bit. Same for Michael Sheen as Aro, and he is not that known here in this state, the only popular franchise that he has done is Underworld. So I like to know that I'm seeing the character, and in some way having a big name does take away from the realism of the situation.
I loved Tom as Malfoy but he would had been cast as Riley, alot of us would have a difficult time separating him from Draco Malfoy.
that thing with Rob, is that he was Cedric for only two HP films and he was really noticable in GOF, now if he had been in HP from the get go, that it would had been difficult separating Cedric from Edward. But than again Rob is a cameleon so.
Oopsy doopsy, NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I cannot imagine the chemistry that the both of them would bring.
*eyes shocked with horror*
I heard Tom Cruise is replacing Peter Facinelli. Paris Hilton will replace Nikki Reed…
Why? WHY IS THE WORLD SO CRUEL????
lol.
yeah the world is pretty much over if that catasrophe happens.
Yeah, but not majority.
Psh
Well.. I mean, he's not exactly what I pictured, but I think with a bit of make up he might be able to pull it off.
I just hope he has what it takes to be a bad vamp.
Lol, I agree!
None of them knew what they were getting themselves into.
Im sure we'll have a Team Xavier in a couple of days.
Im sure he's just playing it cool though.
He must be screaming like a little girl inside from the excitement.
Yeah, you caught me staying up insanely late
Nice to see you on here, you don't grace us with your presence too much.
I'm looking forward to the fight too! LOL
I kinda hope they show some scenes of Victoria and Riley making the “newborn army,” that could be some really good, creepy stuff!!!
See ya on twitter!
No problem at all! I did my good deed for the day
*whispers*
The grey faces creep me out a bit too, LOL.
But don't tell them I said that or they may turn on us. Yikes!!!!
lol!!!
OMG you lot are funny I haven't laughed so much in ages.
Any other recasts we should know about?
ha ha ha.
I think Xavier will make a good Riley though and it's not actually a big charechter, he's Victoria's henchman and then he gets killed.
Thanks. You advice to RosieGirl helped me to get my own avatar, though I realised half way through that I didn't actually have any Twilight pictures so I had to make do with a picture of a squid my brother drew for now.
BTW just figured out what WILF stands for lol!
he has no idea. lol enter the world of twilight
Unless we see Riley and co doing their thing, like Riley in Bella's room taking her red blouse, Riley and co killing those people in Seattle.
Yeah even Rob's nose is crooked and Kristen's nose looks like his but smaller. No one is exactly symmetrical and anyway this guy is only in the movie for a few minutes and he dies, so who cares but I think his lip top corners are extremely not symmetrical.
You're welcome!
After all, it was VERY recently that I was brand new around here myself so I remember how it feels.
Glad to help.
You upgraded from the squid already I see!
Yes, Jake is a WILF…shhh, don't tell the young ones what that means, but I'm glad you get it! LOL
he's cute and i think he would do a great job. for some reason thats how i imagined him, not tom felton, i donno why but i can't imagine him as riley… nope im trying but can't
congrats in taking the part!
Yeah just realised it changed, they told me I could only change it once in 24 hours. Had to go with Spike though, no offence to the Twi vamps but he is my favourite vampire and I was liking him from the first time he stepped out of that car.
But a little off topic, so back to Twilight universe.
I like the new picture on top of the page!! Edward looks so cute!
Hey there! Nothing wrong with spike! He cool. Good choice. Angel is here somewhere too.
Just wondering, what is 84? your birth year?
This is so weird because i imagined him to look exactly like this! great choice
Booh..awful t-shirt. LOL
Judging by his appearance, he seems to be the perfect Riley. Lets' just hope he can act like the perfect Riley too. So far, everyone who has been cast, has embodied their characters really well. I have confidence they made a good decision. **fingers crossed**
What does it even mean? lol
John Lennon's wife?
the person who ruined The Beatles? LOL
Wow, shows how much I know. And why did she ruin the Beatles?
i thought that channng tatum was suppose to be riley in eclipse? not anymore i see?
but considering im from australia… glad this one got the part.
hope he does a good job!
certainly looks the part.
Well… maybe she didn't ruined The Beatles LOL… but sure she was one of the contributing factors.
Yoko Ono's influence to John Lennon was very big and he neglected the band duties and his responsibilities… besides, she convinced Lennon to leave the band.
That's from my (and others) point of view.
mmm…it's complicated to me, explain it in english, sorry =)
woot woot Australia we rule
luv new moon
No, esta bien. Entiendo lo que quieres decir.
Amo cuando hablas español =)
Si, todavia lo amo. hehe. Vamos a Twitter. Nos vemos. hehe
LOL
None of them had any idea of the world they had entered into. I just hope it doesn't scared them away.
Lol.
After all the movies are out they will all be crazy.
“I'm ____ Cullen. I am a vampire vegetarian. But I want to suck your blood!” (last sentence said in a transylvanian accent.) – spelt wrong. I know.
Lol. They are all great in the wonderful world of Twilight, though.
woo, thats me
thanks for reading my email.
xxx
[:
omg thats awesome an aussie!!!!!! Im an Australian. It's nice to see someone from oz in there.
I was told I needed numbers in my name, they seemed as good as any.
I'm an Aussie and I saw him in that beautiful film 'September' which is actually quite sad. If you want to see him act, watch 'September'.
I'm from Australia and most of us know him from a movie “Newcastle” which is actually about where i live. He's fantastic in it. plays a very different role to anything like Riley's character but I'm so proud to have an Aussie in part of the saga!
I'm Aussie too *waves* but I've never seen anything he's done! LOL He looks like he'll be a good Riley tho
When I heard it was an aussie I was so excited cos I thought it would be an ex-H&A/Neighbours guy!
I think he is a 100% better choice then Tom Felton who was posted on the site earlier as a possible Riley. Hes got the college student look.
I love Spike but before Edward came along, Angel was the hottest undead on the planet.
Let's hope Xavier is allowed to keep his Aussie accent, besides in Stephenie's world vampires come from all over.
NICE LIPS.
Isn't Riley supposed to be blonde and really tall and muscular?
He's not really what I pictured at all….
Oh well…
You know, that was just what I was thinking. That name doesn't have good vibes. Usually she's just revered by those into avante garde art. Most music fans kind of hate her.
Might not be a bad person but I wouldn;t want to wear a t-shirt with her name on it.
He also left his wife for her. That didn't endear her to women, at the time.
It also separated John and Paul McDartney, as friends and as a songwriting team. So music fans all over the world did not like her.
They had a rocky relationship–together, broke up, together, separated, had a son…when he was killed they were together.
Oh gosh.
I got scared when the mention of Tom Felton came around!
he reminds me of my little brother…not cool.
Looks like someone is working on getting the site up and running, looking better then ever! Good Job! I like the new look!
Not only all of that, but that comes from the book….Bella's hand is all screwed up and Emmett asks “Fall down again Bella?” and she says “No Emmett, I punched a werewolf in the face”…………….one of my favorite quotes from the books!
I think this guy is pretty good looking, I would never have guessed he was 25! maybe he will start to beef up like Taylor did before Eclipse (crosses fingers) having another ripped man to stare at would be lovely!
nothing better to do so i create an poster lol! im new at photoshop(2 weeks) so im not that good but i think i did an okay job
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x66/jk8odie/...
i'm pretty happy with this choice.. but what I want to know is..
why on EARTH is Xavier wearing a YOKO ONO t-shirt?
*facepalm*
*Stretches legs out*
Yup…this'll do!
I agree with you!
I agree… not everyone has to be perfect with a symmetrical face that's what makes us unique…=D
the interview is on utube…jst type xaier samuel interview
he looks like david archuletta…but with blonde hair.
[not that thats a bad thing of course.]
he looks like david archuletta…but with blonde hair.
[not that thats a bad thing of course.]
he looks like david archuletta…but with blonde hair.
[not that thats a bad thing of course.]
he looks like david archuletta…but with blonde hair.
[not that thats a bad thing of course.]
he looks like david archuletta…but with blonde hair.
[not that thats a bad thing of course.]
he looks like david archuletta…but with blonde hair.
[not that thats a bad thing of course.]
he looks like david archuletta…but with blonde hair.
[not that thats a bad thing of course.]
Me too
My step brother wrote that play and I was extatic. I only found out he was playing Riley afterwards though, but I got to have lunch with him =D
D: People are whining about how Xavier has a crooked nose. Well, I hate to break it to you Robward fans out there but, Edward looks like he got smothered with a shoe in his face!! *Pulls shield up* No offense ;D Team …Rasper? Jiley? xD