Lee Pace Talks Bill Condon, Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart

Marc Malkin with E! Online spoke with Lee Pace (aka Garrett) recently during a break from filming Breaking Dawn.  

“Kristen hasn’t lost any of that stuff that makes her special,” Lee Pace, who is playing Edward’s vampire BFF Garrett in the Breaking Dawn flicks, tells me. “People say it’s quirky, but I think it is authentic.

“She doesn’t march down these red carpets like a show monster,” the former Pushing Daisies star continued. “You see these girls and they’re all just like, ‘I’m living the fantasy. I’m wearing $10,000 worth of clothes and jewelry.’ Kristen’s just not like that. Kristen is just her.”

The same for Mr. Pattinson. “The thing about him that is so charming is what you see is what you get,” Pace said. “He is as charming and humble and handsome as he presents himself. Totally what you see is what you get with him.”

Pace also said that director Bill Condon‘s take on the movies is a bit more “dark” than the previous three movies. “Bill Condon is cooling up these movies,” he said. “I hope that doesn’t get me in trouble with anyone, but he’s cool…He really is killing it with this one. He’s making it cool. Bill is finding that stuff and letting it be as shocking as it can be, but stylish, too.”

Pace returns to filming Breaking Dawn this week after taking a three-week vacation to India. “I wear bright red contacts,” he said. “I feel so plain and boring when I take them out.”

And Twilight isn’t the only thing on Pace’s mind these days. He also costars in Ceremony, an indie comedy from first-time director Max Winkler that hits theaters April 8, with Uma Thurman.

Pace plays Thurman’s fiancé in the film while Michael Angarano (yes, Stewart’s ex!) portrays a young man infatuated with herand intent on ruining their wedding plans. “Uma Thurman’s pretty great!” Pace said. “Kill Bill is actually one of my all-time favorite movies. Her and Darryl Hannah beating the shit out of each other in a trailer? I love it!”

And it was just announced that Pace has joined the cast of the upcoming Broadway production of The Normal Heart with Ellen Barkin and Jim Parsons. The play focuses on the rise of the AIDS crisis in New York City from 1981 to 1984.