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'The Host' Star Jake Abel Recalls 'Intimidating' Audition

Actor tells MTV News about Stephenie Meyer run-in and getting 'romantic' with Saoirse Ronan.

Our wait to see another big-screen adaptation of a fan-loved Stephenie Meyer novel is nearly over: Highly anticipated movie "The Host" arrives March 29.

Set in a not-too-distant future where Earth has been turned into a desolate, postapocalyptic landscape and most of the human race has been wiped out by parasitic aliens, "The Host" revolves around Melanie (Saoirse Ronan), who is captured and implanted with an alien wanderer, Wanda. The alien isn't strong enough to fight off Melanie, so the two coexist, eventually form a bond and attempt to prevent the total annihilation of the human race. Oh, and of course, there is a love triangle between Melanie's first love Jared and newcomer Ian, whom she meets as Wanda not Melanie.

Now, we are happy to unveil a chat with actor Jake Abel, a.k.a. Ian O'Shea, who opened up about his intimidating audition and why everyone should want to work with Ronan.

"I didn't know too much about 'The Host' until I heard about the audition, so before I went in to read with Saoirse, I ran into Stephenie [Meyer] out in the lobby," Abel revealed. "As if that wasn't intimidating enough, I hadn't seen Saoirse in four years. The last time we worked together [on 2009's 'The Lovely Bones'], I was 14, and now I had to go in and have a romantic scene with her."

Abel said he felt honored and very lucky to work on the film, in large part due to his likable co-star.

"She makes my job so much easier," Abel said of Ronan. "And as far as her playing two different people, for me, all Ian is concerned about is Wanda. She's just Wanda. He'd never met her before when she was Melanie. So I haven't really been able to see Saoirse's transitions, which will be exciting to see in the theaters," he said, adding that the film's New Mexico desert setting made for especially exquisite scenery during the filming of one key scene. "My favorite scene to shoot was the one in our hideout," he said. "The other day we were standing up on one of those high ridges, and it was one of the most fantastic things I've ever gotten to see."

Leading lady Ronan has always been extra enthusiastic about the film. Most recently, she gave a shout-out to co-star William Hurt, who plays Melanie's eccentric Uncle Jeb.

"It's great to just see it all put together and see how it looks and how certain scenes turned out," she said. "There are some nice moments in there. I loved working with everyone on it, but I really loved working with William Hurt, just because he was a great leader really for all of us. He raised questions that some of us might not have if he wasn't there, so it was lovely to see the scenes that we did together."

"The Host" hits theaters March 29.

Check out everything we've got on "The Host."

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