Edward Cullen is in fiction.
Edward Cullen ( né Edward Anthony Masen ) is a fictional character in Stephenie Meyer 's Twilight series . He is featured in the books Twilight , New Moon , Eclipse and Breaking Dawn , and their corresponding film adaptations , and the as yet unfinished novel Midnight Sun -- a re-telling of the events of Twilight from Edward 's perspective . In the Twilight film series , Edward is played by actor Robert Pattinson . Twilight is a series of four vampire-themed fantasy romance novels by American author Stephenie Meyer . Released annually from 2005 through 2008 , the four books chart the later teen years of Isabella `` Bella '' Swan , a girl who moves to Forks , Washington , and falls in love with a 104-year-old vampire named Edward Cullen .