Kellan Lutz Was 'Surprised' He and 'Twilight' Costar Nikki Reed Didn't Date: I Felt 'Connected' to Her

Kellan Lutz is recalling an offscreen connection with Nikki Reed that may have once rivaled their onscreen one.

On the latest episode of Ashley Greene's The Twilight Effect podcast, Lutz — who played Emmett Cullen in the Twilight films, opposite Reed's Rosalie Hale — said Reed "was awesome" during filming.

"I really fell in love with her as a human being in Breaking Dawn because we just had so much time to talk and she's really, really special, has such a kind heart," added the actor, 37.

Lutz recalled feeling "so connected to" Reed, 33, admitting, "I'm actually kind of surprised her and I didn't date throughout all this."

Greene, 35, had a similar experience with Jackson Rathbone, who played her character Alice Cullen's husband Jasper Hale. "I feel like everyone had pretty great chemistry," said Greene. "I had such a crush on Jackson."

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Lutz told PEOPLE back in January 2020 that he'd been "reliving" the Twilight movies by introducing them to his wife Brittany Gonzales, who grew up in a "conservative" household.

"It's actually really cool for me to sit back and enjoy that ride again," said the actor. "And to tell her all the behind-the-scenes things and how stuff changed, from each director to each new book."

"It's fun reliving it," he continued. "And I think so much time as gone by that I'm able to experience it again."

While Gonzales "hasn't read the books," Lutz said she understands the franchise's popularity after seeing the movies: "She gets why it was such a phenomenon, because it's a beautiful story about lovers that could never be and should never be, but are."

RELATED VIDEO: Kellan Lutz Has Been "Reliving" the Twilight Movies by Introducing Them to His Wife

In all five Twilight films, Lutz, Reed, Greene and Rathbone, 37, played vampire "siblings" in the Cullen clan, which also included Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli), Esme Cullen (Elizabeth Reaser) and, eventually, Bella Swan Cullen (Kristen Stewart).

Speaking to PEOPLE in February, Greene said filming the movies "wasn't always rainbows and sunshine on set."

"We did this for five years and there was a lot of ups and downs, and some drama, and we were like a family, but also in our 20s, and so there were kind of tiffs here and there," she said. "So I think, it's one of those things where, for the most part, it was a good experience, but we were human beings, and we were in our 20s."

Continued Greene, "So you can imagine who you were in your 20s versus who you are now."