Robert Pattinson turned 40 and says he felt “terrified.” He laughs a lot at his confession, and continues laughing at himself when he says that he had also thought that when he reached that age he would no longer be able to stop working until he retired.
He cuts the joke and gets serious. “I couldn’t be more grateful,” admits the also new fatherhood, at the luxurious and impressive Danielli Hotel in Venice, Italy, where the actor talked about his new film Primetimeas well as his unstoppable artistic career.
Pattinson therefore has many reasons to be grateful for life. “You can’t do this job without having opportunities,” he admits. “I firmly believe that, if one arises, you have to take advantage of it; then you organize your life around that opportunity because, otherwise, what are you going to do? Maybe go on vacation? Being an actor is quite curious, since you are either working or doing nothing.”
The British actor, who became absolutely famous for his role in Twilightrecognizes the moment of definitive momentum in the film industry. It is enough to take a look at his filmography to recognize that he has been able to not only take advantage of the takeoff, but also remain active, combining very different productions.
Primetime: turning point
In these few months, Robert Pattinson has shined at the box office The Odyssey (Christopher Nolan) among a luxury cast, and with Zendaya in the independent production The Drama (by Kristoffer Borgli).
While it arrives Dune: Part Three (by Denis Villeneuve), another big-budget film, Pattinson has stopped by the Venice Film Festival to premiere Primetime (directed and co-written by Lance Oppenheim), a film in which he stars and produces.
In the competition for the Golden Lion, the film begins a promising journey, already supported by excellent reviews, especially for the performance of the British actor.
Primetimewhich also features Merrit Wever, Skyler Gisondo and singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, focuses on the figure of Chris Hansen, an American NBC journalist who became the controversial creator and host of the television show To Catch a Predator.
Developed from 2006, when the television program in question began to be broadcast in prime time in the United States, Pattinson plays the ambitious and shady Hansen, who with his production team captured accomplished pedophiles in virtual chats. and potential child predators using adult actors with the appearance and voices of children as decoys, and then setting them up with cameras.
“I never considered doing this story,” says Robert Pattinson. “I knew about the show, but I didn’t think I should make a movie about Hansen, I didn’t even know that a documentary had already been made about it, and when I found out, I thought, are you kidding me?! It was clear that there was something in the air.” He does not pronounce the name of Jeffrey Epstein, perhaps one of the most notorious cases of pedophilia.
Two decades after the start and instant success of To Catch a Predatorwhich finished airing in 2008 after the on-camera suicide of a pedophile prosecutor, Pattinson analyzes the fascination with that television show.
“It directly addresses one of human beings’ deepest fears: the existence of an invisible predator, someone capable of entering your house and harming the children, against whom there is no way to defend yourself. “It’s the most terrifying thing you can imagine,” he argues and continues.
At a time when the Internet was an almost unknown technology, he points out that there was no choice but to make this program. “When you watch the first episode, it’s really just about addressing a serious issue and warning people about what’s going on.”
Pattinson clarifies his intentions Primetime: “We were trying to create something that was not didactic, we tried not to judge the ethics of the program, but to address the dilemma of having a television success and becoming a star, and how to manage that situation when there is so much at stake, and the environment in which you operate is very complex,” he points out.
There is no doubt that Primetimedue to its outstanding performance and what being the producer entails, represents a turning point in Pattinson’s artistic career.
The taste for risk
Since Robert Pattinson concluded the saga of Twilightwith fame in hand he had two options: snooze in her sweet arms or take a risk. As we already know, he opted for the latter.
“I certainly evaluate the risks when approaching projects,” he maintains and outlines some of his strategy. “You try to diversify, plant different seeds in different fields.”
In this long-distance race to which he has dedicated himself since his youth, he recognizes that “you develop the instinct to feel afraid of something and think that it could be a mistake,” he goes into detail, and gives the example of the mixed emotions that it generated in him. Primetime.
“Days before the premiere I even vomited thinking I was making a huge mistake,” He confesses relieved after being praised by critics and by the public who saw the premiere in Venice. “But that’s also part of the fun, and feeling nervous is great. The funny thing is that when you want something that excites you, the excitement comes while you’re at home imagining the risk, but when you see the risk come true, it really terrifies you.”
From Cosmopolis and star dust (by David Cronenberg), Good Time (Josh and Benny Safdie), passing by The lighthouse (Robert Eggers), Tenet (Christopher Nolan) Waiting for the barbarians (Ciro Guerra), as well as the king (David Michȏd), Mickey (Bong Joon-ho), Kill yourself, love (Lynne Ramsay) and herself PrimetimePattinson demonstrates his fondness for extreme characters, some grotesque, others chaotic, the vast majority of them immersed in an indecipherable darkness.
“I’ve always leaned towards fairly dark characters,” He admits, running his hand for the umpteenth time through a strand of hair that insists on falling in his face. “I think that if you are a bright person, at least I consider myself that way, you find those types of characters more interesting.”
At an acting level, Pattinson is most attracted to characters who “face a dilemma without a right or wrong option, those who are between a rock and a hard place, and whatever direction they choose, any path inevitably leads them to win or lose,” he describes.
“I find it fun to play these types of characters because there is an internal engine that drives them,” he says. “It’s like having two magnets facing each other generating infinite energy. Then I feel that what is at stake takes on greater importance.”
When suggesting a possible role as an ideal villain, he wrinkles his face in rejection. “When someone is pure evil, they stop being interesting,” he argues. “Even if you meet the most evil person in the world, you end up trying to explain how good people they are. That’s exactly what I did throughout the entire promotional tour for The Odysseyinsisting that Antonius was just trying to help Penelope find herself, and that he was a great guy,” he laughed at his quip.
Some of these extreme roles flirt with comedy; However, Pattinson believes that pure and simple comedy is not good for him. “I have more fun when something is not intended to be funny,” and allowing himself an underline, he adds: “I like to do comedy when it’s not supposed to be comedy,” he concludes, laughing heartily again.
And yes, Robert Pattinson also enjoys getting into the Batman suit. “It’s fun,” comes spontaneously to someone immersed in the second installment of the DC superhero (directed by Matt Reeves, like the first part).
“It was difficult to reinvent the first installment into something new; now we are going in a totally different direction. Just by looking at the filming images you can already see the difference compared to the first, it is a quite radical change, it is crazy, I think the audience will be excited“, he promises excitedly.
That afternoon on the top floor of the Danielli Hotel, from where there was a spectacular view of Venice, Robert Pattinson also reflected on his position and, if you will, his status in the English-speaking film industry.
In addition to the choice of his roles, starting his production company Icki Eneo Arlo (2023), whose objective is to promote independent cinema, has definitely put him in another place. “Everything begins to feed off each other,” refers to film projects. “You feel more integrated into the industry as a whole, rather than just waiting for your agent to call.”
It is clear that the British actor’s ambition has never been appeased. He says that it is a huge engine for everything, even passion. At this point you allow yourself to reflect: “The danger lies in the constant search for balance in your life”, shows honesty. “It’s almost easier to say, ‘I’m just going to pursue this goal,’ that’s also easier to understand, but it’s also easy to let the rest of the aspects of your life wither away. I think it’s much more complex to fight battles on several fronts simultaneously,” he says.
It seems that Robert Pattinson does not stop working, linking one film to another. Laughing, he corroborates that it is not a wrong perception, but rather its reality. “For the last two years, the maximum limit for film projects has simply been the number of days in the year. I don’t know what happened!” he admits. “But probably Primetime “It was the most intense job I have ever done, and it was my first experience as a producer, and very few people would have endured the amount of calls I made.”
The fact of working intensely, practically seven days a week for years, if it had happened to him a decade ago, he says he does not consider it viable. “It would have been much more stressful for me,” says Robert Pattinson with a broad smile. “But at 40 I feel like that’s what you’re supposed to do.”
