Vanity Fair has a new interview with Alex Meraz:

Little Gold Men: How did you end up getting cast in New Moon?

Alex Meraz: It was pretty conventional. I got a breakdown for an open casting call—they were looking for Native actors—and I submitted my stuff and luckily I got a role. One of the casting directors was kind of the Native American liaison. I had been cast in another one of her films. I sent her my original casting tape. She liked it, but she thought we could do better. So she brought me in to L.A., I gave it a whirl, and I eventually got the role.

Read more here.