(Credits: Warner Bros)
Tue 10 February 2026 14:30, UK
You might not think of her as a major franchise player, but Anna Kendrick has been at the helm of some seriously successful series, with the obvious one being Pitch Perfect.
She fronted all three films about a group of a capella singers, which have grossed over half a billion dollars worldwide, alongside which she’s also the voice of Poppy, the main character of the even more lucrative Trolls franchise.
One of her earliest big breaks came as part of one of the most infamous film franchises of modern times, Twilight, where in four of the five films Kendrick plays Jessica Stanley, the first friend to Kristen Stewart’s Bella Swan after she moves to the town of Forks, and while she’s not a massive part of the story, especially in the sequels, she still had to make appearances, which wasn’t always a good thing, especially for her health.
Since large parts of the film take place outside, or in a dense forest, it would explain why Kendrick and her castmates were so regularly exposed to the elements. Though the movie is set in the state of Washington, filming actually took place in Portland, Oregon, which is usually blessed with good weather, but clearly, the movie gods had other ideas, such that the constant rain and fog worked for the film’s plot but were otherwise a menace.
“I just remember being so cold and miserable,” the actor told Elite Daily of her time on the set of the first film, “I just remember my Converse being completely soaked through and feeling like, ‘You know, this is a really great group of people, and I’m sure that we would be friends at a different time, but I want to murder everyone’.”
Stewart has also spoken about the baggage that came with leading a major franchise, which explains her decision to shy away from big Hollywood movies in the years since and choose instead to focus on smaller indie projects. Additionally, Robert Pattinson, known for playing Edward Cullen in the series, has been very vocal on the subject, flip-flopping between slagging it off outright and praising it for its cultural longevity.
It’s important to note, though, that other actors have been kinder, with Michael Sheen, who plays the villainous Aro Volturi in three of the films, speaking very fondly of his experiences with the series.
Even Kendrick wasn’t wholly negative about it, saying, “It was also kind of bonding. There was something about it, like, if you go through some trauma event. Like you imagine people who survive a hostage situation, and you’re kind of bonded for life”, which sounds a lot like damning with faint praise, but at this point, we’ll take it.
As the legacy of the Twilight films continues to evolve, these insights from actors continue to be vital sources of information. It might be fun to look back at the series and laugh, but they were a huge deal at the time and are still very special to a lot of people, yet whether that was worth Anna Kendrick almost dying from hypothermia is something up for debate.
