'Twilight' star Kellan Lutz says he 'almost' didn't return for the 'Breaking Dawn' movies

• "Twilight" star Kellan Lutz said that he considering exiting the franchise prior to "Breaking Dawn."
• Lutz said that he "almost" left due to difficulties like long hours wasted waiting around on set.

Kellan Lutz said that he came close to exiting the "Twilight" franchise, but decided to return for the final two films.

"I almost didn't do the 'Breaking Dawn' movies," Lutz said in the latest episode of costar Ashley Greene's podcast, "The Twilight Effect" with Kast Media. Lutz and Greene starred as Emmett Cullen and Alice Cullen, respectively, in all five "Twilight" films released between 2008 and 2012.

During his conversation with Greene and her cohost Melanie Howe, Lutz said that waiting around on the sets of the movies was one of the most frustrating aspects of starring in the franchise.

"I remember some days we were just waiting on set," Lutz said. "'Twilight' and all the movies were probably the most waiting on set I've ever experienced. For people who know me, I'm very impatient and I like being busy and doing stuff. I'd rather be doing stuff than sitting there, standing there."

Greene empathized, saying that it was challenging to be in limbo, while in full hair and makeup, sometimes for 12 hours.

"Hurry up and wait in your trailer is quite different than hurry up and wait on set," Lutz said. "In 'Breaking Dawn,' we had two weeks of standing in this snow battle scene in a studio."

After the success of the first "Twilight" film in 2008, four sequels followed based on Stephenie Meyer's fantasy novels: "New Moon" (2009), "Eclipse" (2010), "Breaking Dawn: Part 1" (2011), and "Breaking Dawn: Part 2" (2012).

"My agent's like, 'All the money you're making?!' I'm like, 'You can't take it with you,'" Lutz recalled of contemplating leaving the franchise behind. "I really don't care about the money. I've worked enough and I am grateful that we did the movies."

"But it got to the point where my passion, the twinkle in my eye for what I love to do, wasn't there anymore," he continued. "And that's concerning, if you fall out of love with what you do, then what are you really doing?'

The actor said that aside from the unpleasantness of constantly waiting on set, he felt "vulnerable" because of the constant watch of the paparazzi.

Plus, there was heightened security around the actors when the franchise became a global phenomenon — to the point where he couldn't have physical interactions with his costars.

Asked about why he ultimately reprised his role, Lutz said: "I just trusted my team."

Greene said that she found herself at a similar crossroad with "Breaking Dawn."

"The end was kind of difficult for a lot of us and having to figure out how to get through it," she said. "I think part of it was that we got to lean on each other. We did kind of create this family because no one else understood what we were going through."

She continued: "But also, I remember having a conversation with my agents and manager and being like, 'The fans will be so devastated.'"

"That was a big pull of it," Lutz said of the fandom. "Probably the biggest pull, because I didn't care about the money."