Cam Gigandet's best known to millions of Twilight fans as James, the evil vampire who tried to kill Bella in the first film of the blockbuster series. And, strangely enough, he's back in the world of fanged creatures with a starring role in Priest. However, Priest's vampires would never make the cover of a magazine, don't sparkle in the sunlight, and have fangs which they use to tear into flesh.

In Priest, Gigandet plays a sheriff who teams up with two warrior priests after his girlfriend (Lily Collins) is kidnapped by vampires.

And on the day I visited the set of the Screen Gems film, Gigandet, Paul Bettany and Maggie Q were shooting two scenes that take place in a deserted town. Melody Ranch in Santa Clarita Valley, California provided the Wild West background for scenes involving the three lead actors attempting to track down the pack of murderous vampires.

Gigandet and his co-stars prepared for a scene in which they arrive in the town on motorcycles, and after several rehearsals director Scott Stewart called, 'Action.' The threesome got off their bikes and delivered a few quick lines while a wind machine blew dirt straight into their faces. Director Stewart, who was fighting to get the scene shot with rain threatening to delay production, liked what he saw and moved on to the next shot, a scene involving Gigandet, Bettany and Maggie Q kneeling at the bases of crosses holding the bodies of three priests killed by vampires.

In between scenes, Gigandet sat down to talk about working on the post-apocalyptic action thriller based on a popular graphic novel.

Clad all in leather, Gigandet was more than happy to take a break from the dirt and rain by chatting up the film inside one of the Western-themed buildings on the Melody Ranch set.

Cam Gigandet Priest Set Visit Interview

Nice outfit.

Cam Gigandet: "I know, right?"

Is it easy to get into character when you're wearing something like this?

Cam Gigandet: "Of course it is, yes. Every day there's like a whole production. I mean it takes 15 minutes just to get on my entire wardrobe. By that time you kind of really get into it. You can smell the leather and dirt."

You've gone from playing a vampire to playing a vampire hunter in this movie. Is that kind of weird for you?

Cam Gigandet: "No. I mean Twilight was just a very different movie, you know>? These vampires are not normal vampires and so I think that's kind of a great original idea is we’re playing them as these monsters, really, and they just happen to chase humans. And Twilight was a blast and everything, but I don't know... I like playing this side of it. I think I've played the bad guy a lot over my career, I guess, and this is a good change, so definitely."

From the clips, it appears there are references to The Searchers in this movie. Playing that kind of iconic Western character, what's that like?

Cam Gigandet: "Intimidating, I guess. I mean we've all seen The Searchers a dozen times, and the amount of material that you can get just from watching that single movie alone is great. But then what's also awesome is having not only Scott [Stewart] but Paul [Bettany here as well. They find these amazing moments that we can bring a lot of originality to and kind of create our own little world."

"You know, having all of these vampire movies out there, having all of these Western movies, industrialized movies, anything like that, this really kind of stands out I think because of Scott, and Paul as well, and it really helped a lot. It was like school every day."

And apparently your character has a huge gun in this film.

Cam Gigandet: "Yes. They have like three different phases of the gun, and so I have one that's probably two pounds and then one that I think is like three or four pounds. And then the real ones... I am not kidding you, I don't think they've weighed them but they should. They're at least 10 pounds. There's scenes where I'm holding it up and we have to split the scene in half because I literally cannot do it anymore. My hand’s shaking and you'd see in the scene that slowly, as time goes by and if it's take four it’s just like down, I'm aiming at their feet. It’s a monster of a gun."

Paul Bettany gets to get wired up and jump around and attack vampires. Do you get wired up too?

Cam Gigandet: "No, actually I don't, not up to this point I haven't had to jump around or anything. I do get to watch a lot, you know, being that at the end of the day I'm just a sheriff, you know? And that's kind of his journey from the beginning of the movie to the end is him growing into becoming someone who could potentially be and make a good Priest. But at the beginning he is just a sheriff and someone who is stuck into this position through no fault of his own."

What's the background of your character before he became a sheriff?

Cam Gigandet: "Well, he fell in love with a girl in this small town and how he came into being a sheriff was his father was a sheriff and his whole family. When it became his time, it really wasn’t a choice for him; he just kind of had to fill the shoes and take over that position whether he wanted to or not. And so meeting Lucy was kind of like the first step for him into accepting or facing the fact that he doesn't have to do this for the rest of his life, he doesn’t have to be a sheriff, he doesn’t have to do what he doesn’t love. And that's where everything kind of goes wrong..."

So if he doesn't love being a sheriff, what would he rather be doing?

Cam Gigandet: "Oh, you know, he would rather be living his life, enjoying working on a farm. But then there's also how he became a sheriff, you know? Just the fact that he was thrown into this position kind of put a bitter taste in his mouth. He is very good with a gun, he is very good with a knife but there's a lot of baggage surrounding his job. No one thinks that he can actually do it. So he has those issues of trying to succeed at something when everyone thinks you're a failure. Eventually you're going to believe that, and so he does believe that."

"I don't know. If it was his choice, he would be working on a farm and raising a family - but he didn’t have a choice."

Have you had to deal with a lot of Twilight-related stuff since that movie came out, like fans and the fame that comes with being part of a franchise like that?

Cam Gigandet: "Yes, yes. I mean especially when the movie came out it was crazy. I mean it really was, and it was fun and I had a great time with it. You know, one of my huge decisions was that I didn’t want to do the franchise, I wasn't going to be a part of it, I couldn't six years down the line think about my career. And that’s great for all of the Twilight cast as it is, but for me I just couldn’t do that. And so it kind of opened up a lot of doors. It helped out with a lot and it served its purpose, and so I'm ready to move on."

Did you think twice when you saw the script for this one and it had vampires in it, even though you weren’t playing a vampire?

Cam Gigandet: "No, because even when I read the script it was [obvious] these vampires aren’t human. They don't have like these human-like qualities as Twilight did and so it just sounded very different - even like visually. Once I met with Scott and everything, at the end of the day it was simply the character that really kind of drove home the decision. And, you know, a chance to work with Paul Bettany was always a good bonus."

Can you talk about working with Paul?

Cam Gigandet: "Oh man, you know so many sets are...they're all so different, you know? And every once in a while you find a set and co-stars that you absolutely love and I love Paul. He's actually one of the best people. He makes work fun every day, he really does. And I learned so much from him. He's really taken me under his wing and there's no judgment. He has way more experience than me but every take, every setup, everything, he is always right there 100%."

I saw you guys kind of tackling each other earlier after shooting some dialogue after a scene.

Cam Gigandet: "Yes, and we do have a lot of fun and we give each other a hard time. At times this movie can be exhausting; it’s not a comedy and so having these light moments when the camera’s aren’t rolling is really kind of fun. There hasn’t been a day yet where I haven’t wanted to go to work which is, you know, what you pray for."

Are there comical moments in the movie?

Cam Gigandet: "Yes, there are, actually. You know, our relationship onscreen, Paul and I, it starts off very rocky and we butt heads a lot, even though I don't quite have the courage to say anything to his face. But, yes, there are definitely some good moments between Paul and I in the beginning of the movie."

Paul was saying that he didn't really get to ride those motorcycles because they're too dangerous. Did you get to at all?

Cam Gigandet: "I got to ride mine. He has training wheels on his. I shouldn't have said that. Well his, Paul’s and the Priests all have different bikes than I do and theirs were built and it just so happens they were all extremely dangerous. And so, yes, they’ve been very cautious around Paul and the bike and it’s all been very tense every time he sits on it. And so they've made it a lot easier, you know, having these training wheel things. But I've actually got to ride mine a little bit and I get to go practice a lot. I’ll just practice just because it’s fun."

Do you ride bikes?

Cam Gigandet: "No. The first time I ever road a bike was a few months ago. I didn’t even know how to do it then, until I got on this movie and we got to train and ride around a lot. So I absolutely love it, which is bad news."

Did you get to jump off the bike onto a train like Paul did?

Cam Gigandet: "Yes, we jump on a train. I jump on the back. I actually didn't get to do that part, that was some stunt work for me but when I saw it, it was unreal. They actually had real cabooses or whatever and then a real motorcycle. There was wirework and they were actually going 40 miles an hour and there's just like leaps. 'Yes, I wouldn't be doing that.' But it’s really turning out to be some wild shots."

What's been your most difficult stunt?

Cam Gigandet: "We're riding down on this salt flat and I'm hanging on the back of the...they have like this little pedestal that I stand on on the side of this big caboose thing and you can't have any wires. I'm just like standing on this on a bumpy road and we’re going 40 miles an hour. I'm just trying to stand and look semi-normal, and then I have to actually jump on from there, which was kind of exciting. I love that stuff."

Would you return for a sequel?

Cam Gigandet: "Yes, I would continue with this one. I mean, you can't even really consider it a job. It’s really just one of the funniest days, every day is like this. And I get to wear the cool costumes."

Are you going to keep any souvenirs from the shoot?

Cam Gigandet: "I wish. I don't think so. I can save that for the premiere. They’ve talked about their guns and they actually want their guns to go on, because I guess the people who made them are so proud of their guns. The real one actually shoots and everything, so they want to put it up for display and everything."

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Priest hits theaters on May 13, 2011.