Pattz, Pattz, Pattz. There's more to the "Twilight" movies than Robert Pattinson. To prove the point, "New Moon" takes epically hot Edward Anthony Cullen out of the picture, allowing some other high-cheekboned bad-boy social outcasts to take center stage.

There is, for example, English actor Jamie Campbell Bower, best known for his role as Anthony in Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd." Bower plays Caius, a new vampire character who demands that Bella, "Twilight's" mortal heroine, be silenced lest she spread the news that vampires are real. And there's Kenyan-American Edi Gathegi as Laurent, a dreadlocked vamp also plotting against Bella. The actors were in Minneapolis recently, discussing their careers and the "Twilight" money machine.

Q Your mall appearances bring out battalions of shrieking girls. How do you cope with the pandemonium?

Bower: I listen to loud music all day, so my hearing's blown anyway. Someone pulled a chunk of my hair out in Spain. That was really painful. I wasn't happy.

Gathegi: I feel sorry for the people who are just shopping, stuck next to the screamers. It's mostly young girls who are experiencing first love or yearning for first love, but I've met some "Twilight" moms. And "Twilight" grandmoms. My prediction is that with "New Moon" and the action getting bumped up a level, more guys are going to get involved.

Q There has been a lot of discussion about the transition from director Catherine Hardwicke, who made the first film, to Chris Weitz. How did the transition affect you?

Gathegi: It was a different experience for me, definitely. Catherine had a great independent filmmaking background, so it's a lot of handheld camerawork. Chris Weitz is more epic, larger, more thought out.

Q Jamie, you wear a shoulder-length platinum blond wig and elaborate costumes in "New Moon." How did you feel about that extreme look?

Bower: I quite liked it. I belong to an Italian race of vampires, and the idea is we dress in the clothing of our victims. We choose them by how well they dress.

Q You've also appeared in the "Harry Potter" movies and AMC's remake of "The Prisoner." That's a fantasy trifecta. Is that a deliberate choice or coincidence?

Bower: I'm going to be the guy with a booth at Comic-con, signing autographs for the rest of my life. Seriously, my agent sends me things he knows I would enjoy and he thinks will help my career. I'm not trying to be the sci-fi guy.

Q "New Moon" has a big cast. Whom did you most enjoy working with or meeting?

Bower: Michael Sheen. He's English and has a large following back home, and I'm a big fan of his work. And Dakota Fanning, because she is utterly divine in what she does. To be able to watch her is amazing for me. She's wicked, very cool.

Q What does it mean for your career to be part of this franchise?

Gathegi: The fans are the most passionate fans you could ask for, and they're 14. It's great to have that sort of love following your career.

Q This is a romance-vampire-action franchise. Which ingredient in the formula do you enjoy most?

Gathegi: I'm going to be presumptuous and say for most people it's the romance. That's the core, the aspect that makes this whole machine run. Through Bella's eyes, you fall in love with the story.

Bower: We all remember our first love, this overwhelmingly powerful emotion. We all remember the first heartbreak we ever felt. That's what young people can identify with the most. Also the music. The Death Cab for Cutie song is wonderful. Band of Skulls are also very good. It's the amalgamation of all these things that creates this wonderful hysteria.

Colin Covert • 612-673-7186