Kristen S

A natural musician - he starred in the Beatles-based "Across the Universe" - Anderson worked on three projects in one year - "The River", "The Grey" and "Breaking Dawn".

In less than a week, he went from minus 40 temperatures in Canada to scorching heat in Puerto Rico.

The former was for "The Grey," a drama about a group of airplane crash survivors fighting off wolves. The latter, a role in "The River," a new ABC drama about a wildlife expert who goes missing.

"Throw in 'Twilight' and it was a pretty interesting year," Anderson says with a smile.

And then? Then there's "Breaking Dawn," the last two parts of the "Twilight" saga. In the vampire drama, Anderson plays Alistair, a particularly complex vampire who intercedes for the Cullens. The actor read the books, saw the early films and "tried to absorb as much as I could" but knew he'd never be as savvy about the character as some of the popular books' fans.

No sweat. "It's nice to play against the grain of the film," Anderson says. "He can do what he wants because he is who he is."

The 29-year-old British-born actor, however, didn't realize the devotion of "Twilight's" fan base.

"I hadn't even arrived at the motel and already there was fan mail. They figured out where I was going to be - and I didn't even know. But every one of those letters was so genuine and so sweet."

The creepy stuff? That was saved for other actors. "A woman was standing outside the Sutton Place in Vancouver with a pair of scissors. She had flown from England to cut some of Robert Pattinson's hair for a doll."

"Breaking Dawn - Part II" (slated for release in the fall) came with such high financial stakes "tension was ripe," Anderson says. "There's not a lot of rehearsal. So before a scene with Kristen (Stewart) I had to gun up the character from the trailer to the stage. It's the first time you see this guy come to life. But until you get the gear on, you're not quite sure what he's going to be."