The Batman star Robert Pattinson had a very interesting way of getting into character at the beginning of his career. He recently revealed how his early acting methods and understanding of the Edward Cullen character in Twilight almost cost him the role that skyrocketed him to fame.
Before starring in The Batman, Pattinson became a household name in 2008 when he portrayed the brooding vampire Edward Cullen in the film adaptation of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. The British actor has since used that recognition to move on to more cerebral films like The Lighthouse and The Devil All the Time, and the much-anticipated The Batman. However, his journey to The Dark Knight was not without its challenges.
Pattinson recently spoke to GQ about his time playing Edward Cullen in the Twilight films and revealed there was a lot of conflict between the way he saw the character and the way the studio wanted him to portray the role. The studio was concerned Pattinson was making the character too "emo," but Pattinson admits that, at the time, that was the only way he knew how to interpret the character. This conflict became so tense that Robert's manager and agent visited him on set and told him that he needed to "do the opposite" of what he had been doing, or he would "be fired by the end of the day." Despite the threat, Pattinson would not play the character "lighthearted" because he thinks he would have come off "even more like a psychopath," but he admits that the threat is the only reason Edward Cullen smiles at all in Twilight.
Pattinson recently spoke about his early ways of getting into character that began with his role as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The young actor read a book on method acting and thought he needed to physically beat himself up to prepare for the intense scenes in the maze. The actor remembers "punching" himself, "screaming into a pillow," and even ripping his clothing. While the physical methods he was performing on the Harry Potter set had calmed down by the time he was filmingTwilight, Pattinson admits he still struggled with getting into character without making the character too intense and feeling "infuriated." While Pattinson's instinct to create intensely emo characters may not have landed well in Harry Potter or Twilight, the actor's default intensity might just be what makes him the perfect choice for The Batman.
Reportedly, Pattinson obsessed over the role of Bruce Wayne and early screenings of Pattinson's The Batman warn viewers that it is complex and may even cause controversy. With Pattinson's prior need to create very intense and emotional characters, it seems Batman is the perfect role for him to portray.
The actor certainly has his own interpretation of the hero, calling him "a freak," and interpreting the story of the hero as "really sad." This seems the perfect character for Pattinson to pour all the intensity and emotion that he was banned from using in Twilight.
The Batman will be released in theaters on March 4, 2022.
Source: GQ