Robert Pattinson took Xanax before Twilight meeting

Robert Pattinson almost fell asleep when he met the producers of the Twilight movies for the first time - because he'd downed anti-anxiety drug Xanax to prevent a panic attack.

The actor has confessed he tried out the calming pills after becoming "paranoid" about messing up important auditions, according to The Observer Magazine.

He admits he took the medication before meeting Twilight producers when he was being lined up for his role as Edward Cullen - but it made him so drowsy he almost passed out.

Pattinson tells the publication, "I'd never had a Xanax before. But I'd started getting so paranoid about messing up auditions all the time that I would actually mess them up. So I took like half a Xanax (before my Twilight audition). And it went really well, so when I had to go and meet the producers I thought, 'I'm just gonna take another Xanax!' And then I went in and almost fell asleep."