Confession: When I started Confessions of a (Male) Twi-Hard and wrote my introductory Twi-Hard Bucket List, I wasn't honestly sure whether or not I would cross any of the items off the list. That isn't to say I didn't want to, I just looked at most of the items as pure fantasy. And besides, most of the personalities listed would probably be freaked out by a 30-something male "Twilight" superfan.
That's why my stomach kind of dropped when the NextMovie editor called me and said Peter Facinelli agreed to meet me for chicken wings. "Really? You've got to be kidding." He wasn't. That's how I found myself in Midtown Manhattan's Lansdowne Road bar at 11 a.m. on Friday morning, sitting across a table of Buffalo wings from the man who plays Carlisle Cullen.
I've met Facinelli once before, when I interviewed him during the DVD release of "New Moon" for Moviefone. When his publicist and I walked into his room, it appeared empty. She looked confused, "He was just ... here ..." As she turned around to see if he'd gone somewhere else, Facinelli jumped out from behind the door and scared the s**t out of both of us.
So, I already knew he has a sense of humor, but still felt nervous about creating small talk with a celebrity over beers (he orders Amstel Light, by the way). I mean, I'm not only a fan of "Twilight" ("Breaking Dawn - Part 1" hits Blu-ray and DVD Saturday, by the way) but Dr. Cooper, his character on "Nurse Jackie," is easily in my top-five contemporary TV characters (my homey also has a new indie film, "Loosies," which he wrote and stars in, and which is on demand and in theaters now).
Not having any formal journalism training, my interview style isn't conventional ... or even very well thought out. I use props, make things awkward and ask Facinelli for a chest bump (you won't see that in the video below, sorry). He's obviously a little thrown by all this, but is a great sport and plays along. My man crush on him stands.
Finally! I have crossed the first thing off my Twi-Hard Bucket List. See it all go down here, plus some bonus clips below:
Male Twi-Hard's Revised Bucket List:
1. Give Stephenie Meyer a long hug (and secretly sniff her hair).
2. Give the girl who sewed the Bella felt womb a psych evaluation.
3. Go hunting in the woods of Forks, Washington. Kill something.
4. Chest bump Kellan Lutz.
5. Taste Kristen Stewart's loquat pie.
6. Challenge Bitten by Blogging to a Twi-Off.
7. Drink Tru Blood with Kristen Stewart & Dakota Fanning.
8. Visit Tantas Toys, the maker of The Vamp dildo.
9. Ask the cast a question at a Comic-Con panel. (And then scream after they answer it.)
10. Get both Victorias (Bryce Dallas Howard and Rachelle Lefevre) in the same room.
11. Become an honorary TwilightMOMS member.
12. Touch Robert Pattinson's hair.
13. Attend a "Twilight"-themed prom or wedding.
14. Eat chicken wings with Peter Facinelli.
15. Challenge a "Harry Potter" fan site writer to a slap fight.
16. See "Breaking Dawn" with Oprah.
17. Get 10,000 followers on Twitter (follow me here, fellow, Twi-Hards).
Bonus Clip: Facinelli on 'Twilight' Conventions
Bonus Clip: Facinelli on 'Loosies'
Bonus Clip: Facinelli on 'Nurse Jackie'
Confessions of a (Male) Twi-Hard is a “Twilight” humor column by Ryan McKee that publishes every other week on NextMovie. Read Ryan’s introductory post here and follow him on Twitter.