McAllen actress Marisa Quintanilla has pivotal role in final 'Twilight' movie

“Twilight” already has one McAllen native tied to the movie series, and now there are two.

McAllen born Marisa Quintanilla scored the role as the vampire Huilen in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.”

“Never in a million years would I have even guessed it, you know?” she said. “It was amazing.”

She was a fan before she auditioned for the role, which she snagged quickly, though she didn’t know she was cast until months afterward.

“I was introduced (to “Twilight”) by my sisters, and my sisters are quite a bit younger than me, and they introduced me to the movies,” Quintanilla said. “And I thought it was really silly at first … and then I watched them and was in love with them and couldn’t wait to see the next one.”

Those who have read the books know how important the role of Huilen is. And though the “Twilight” saga is officially over with the release of “Breaking Dawn,” there’s a lot of back story author Stephanie Meyer could explore.

If Meyer does change her mind and revisits the “Twilight” universe of vampires, shapeshifters and humans, perhaps it could mean more screen time for Quintanilla as Huilen.

“Fingers crossed, believe me, it was discussed on set with the boy that plays my nephew,” she said. “We were like, I mean, come on, they have to do another movie, or at least a webisode about these characters. There’s like, a whole world that they could talk about.”

After graduating from Brown University in Rhode Island and spending some time doing theater in New York City, in 2004, Quintanilla headed for Hollywood.

Quintanilla’s family still lives in the Valley and has been watching over the years as she has made appearances in their favorite TV shows and movies. Earlier this year, Quintanilla had a part on “The Young and the Restless,” her mom’s and grandmother’s favorite soap opera.

“I think the best part was, I’ve always wanted to be in movies, film, TV and anything my family would get really excited about, and this year has been really awesome for that,” she said.

She worked directly with Robert Pattinson (Edward) and Kristin Stewart (Bella).

“It was surprisingly amazing and easy and just so easy, breezy, cool and casual,” she said. “They had no attitude; everybody on the set was just kind, generous and in a way that I was just really taken aback by because these people are so famous.”

In spite of how some media paint Stewart out to be a snob, she was anything but, Quintanilla said.

“She was just the sweetest thing. She was really nice and shy, if anything,” she said. “She’s so much like (her) character: shy, a little awkward – in the cutest, most endearing kind of way.”

And Quintanilla had nothing but praise for Pattinson, too.

“Rob, as well, (was) just so nice and soft-spoken. Neither of them is ever loud or getting all the attention or anything like that on set,” Quintanilla said. “They’re just really quiet and do their job and nice to everyone.”

Filming for “Breaking Dawn” has already wrapped, and Quintanilla is currently working on a television pilot with a couple of other women with whom she started a production company with. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” will be released Nov. 16, 2012.

“We’re getting ready to shoot next month,” she said. “We have to keep it really quiet, but I can tell you that it’s the comic quest of three beautiful girls in Los Angeles and they’re up to some really fun things. It’s all about great fun, vintage fashion and food.”

In the meantime, you can catch Quintanilla on TV almost everywhere in a McDonald’s commercial about the mango-pineapple smoothie.

Marisa Quintanilla

HOMETOWN: McAllen

HIGH SCHOOL: McAllen Memorial High; Class of ‘98

CAREER: Actor, model, photographer

COLLEGE: Brown University

FILMOGRAPHY:

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  • “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” (2012) — Huilen
  • “The Young and the Restless” (TV series) (2011) — Shopgirl
  • “Criminal Minds” (TV series) “Catching Out” (2009) — Angela Ortiz
  • “Road House 2: Last Call” (Video) (2006) — Nadja

READ MORE ABOUT HER: http://www.themonitor.com/entertainment/actors-16296-quintanilla-criminal.html

FIND HER ON FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marisa-Quintanilla-Actress/121204904610225

I LOVE EL VALLE

WHAT SHE MISSES: “The food. The Mexican food in Los Angeles is different from the Mexican food in South Texas.”

FAVORITE EATERY: “I love Ms. G’s, but the original Ms. G’s.”

FAVORITE SPI PLACE: “The oysters that are on the way end of the Island … Dirty Al’s, yeah. They have those big oysters and they’re so cheap and so delicious.”