Nikki Reed was 'hit on' by filmmakers at age 14

Nikki Reed's former director has described the actress being "hit on" by filmmakers at the age of 14.

Director Catherine Hardwicke revealed she had to play bodyguard for the underage actress when they attended the Sundance Film Festival in 2003.

Having steered Nikki, now 37, and Evan Rachel Wood, now 38, through the filming of their hit 2003 art movie, Thirteen, Catherine recently explained she then had to protect both actresses from predatory older men at the event.

"Not everyone got the message about Nikki," Catherine told The Hollywood Reporter, in an interview marking the festival's final year at Sundance in Utah.

"It completely went off the rails, and even these older filmmakers tried to hit on her. They would say, "Bring her to the party." I'm like, "Dude. No! She's 14!"

The Twilight director added that despite her efforts, men still tried to hit on Nikki and her co-star, and explained it was long before the Me Too era, in which male predators were publicly called out.

"Some guys crossed the line. It was 2003, and I guess people thought they could get away with it since not a lot of people had been busted yet," Catherine said.

"The second half of the festival, people hit on her left and right as we walked down Main Street. I had to say, "No! She's 14!" I started making announcements during Q&As at the beginning to say that 'Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed are only 14 years old. Don't even think about it!'