How Robert Pattinson Pulled Off A Hollywood Miracle

Get in the car

That was a very dangerous maneuver. This used to be how most people thought of Robert Pattinson

However, you can't keep a good heartthrob down. The young actor who quickly became a sex icon for a generation

would reinvent himself through critically acclaimed indie darlings and big budget studio projects alike

into being one of the biggest stars on the planet. And the film that this fiery career rebirth can be linked back to

just might surprise you. If I can't change things here, if I can't have an effect

I don't care what happens to me. Every great artist is forced to walk two paths at once

One leads down a direction of artistic fulfillment, the other manifests in commercial viability

Occasionally, these two roads lead to the same direction. However, usually, they are diametrically

opposed. This crucible is something that all performers must navigate. However, few have done

in quite as unusual a way as Robert Pattinson. He initially rose to cultural prominence

through his turn as Cedric Diggory in the 2005 film The Goblet of Fire

Sure, he appeared in supporting roles in small projects as a child, but it would be the stage that Potter granted him

that would make everyone sit up and take notice. For a moment there, I thought you were gonna let it get me

For a moment, so did I. However, it would be three years later in 2008

that Pattinson would get his big break portraying Edward Cullen in the Twilight film series

Initially produced off a measly budget of $37 million, the film netted over $400 million at the box office

and instantly propelled Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and Pattinson to international superstardom

Despite always keeping one foot in the indie sphere during this time with projects like Little Ashes, Love and Distrust, and Water for Elephants

it would be Twilight that would govern most of the next half-decade of Pattinson's career

From New Moon to Eclipse to the two-part finale Breaking Dawn the franchise would firmly pigeonhole Pattinson as a teen heartthrob sparkly vampire and a wooden performer At this point Pattinson was something of a cultural punchline Hi I Rob Pattinson and sometimes when things bother me I climb up in my little tree

The Twilight films were looked down upon by wide swaths of movie-going public

and Pattinson made a delineated career choice. He wanted to be involved in artistically adventurous work

All throughout the multiple press tours of Twilight, Pattinson made it very clear he was not a fan of the franchise

the characters, or Stephenie Meyer's writing. There's a lot of stuff in the Twilight world that doesn't make any sense

It's like, why are they still going to high school? He wanted to be involved in smaller, more character-oriented projects

films that would allow him to push into more artistically fulfilling areas. And when you have the millions of dollars that the Twilight franchise netted him

you get to do that. In 2014, he had two projects debut, a futuristic western titled The Rover and Maps to the Stars

a satirically-oriented Hollywood takedown picture directed by David Cronenberg, the latter of which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival that

year. Suddenly, Pattinson wasn't just a pretty face who had headlined a trashy YA vampire franchise

He was someone who had a real artistic presence, and someone who indie productions could cast

who had enough name recognition to actually get their project financed. That right there

is a winning combination. Was he accepted on a mainstream level? No, but within the who's who

of the industry, he was re-cementing his reputation and displaying his capabilities

Following in rapid succession, Pattinson made Queen of the Desert, Life, and the slightly

bigger budgeted The Lost City of Z, where he grew a beard and lost 35 pounds for his

supporting role. However, it would be his next film, the neo-noir project Good Time, that would truly rebrand

Pattinson and give him an escape velocity. You're incredible, do you understand

Yeah. I'm serious, you think I could have done that without you standing next to me being strong

No. Are you feeling this? As further testament to Pattinson's passion and drive to rebrand himself

as something other than the face of the Twilight movies, the story of how he became involved in Good Times is highly unusual One night while serving the internet the young star happened across a still from an unreleased movie titled Heaven Knows What It struck a chord with him

He tracked down the directors, having never seen any of their work, and suggested that they work together

I kind of get very fixated on people I want to work with. At the time, the Safdie brothers were attempting

to make a movie about the Diamond District in New York that would later become Uncut Gems

However, when Pattinson reached out to them, they quickly realized that they needed

to write something specifically for him. And I said, I want to do whatever you guys are doing next

I want to do it. And I remember Josh saying, do you mean that? Because I'll have a script in six weeks

The resulting film is a stripped-down thriller about a low-level criminal attempting

to scrape together bail money to prevent his developmentally disabled brother from going to a maximum security prison

The film's pulsing score, dynamic camera work, and gritty aesthetic were a hit with audiences

and critics alike. However, it was Pattinson's acting and his commitment to the role that took center stage

During the press tour for the film, Pattinson and the Safdie brothers repeatedly told stories where they would take Pattinson out in public

His hair dyed blonde and roleplay with him. They went to an auto body shop, they ate a Dunkin' Donuts, and they even worked for a day at a car wash, all the while totally in character

He got this experience of what it's like to be hanging out with your friends, but also have this kind of person with you who doesn't necessarily belong and isn't included in the group

Benny Safdie would perform publicly as his mentally handicapped character, forcing Pattinson to react and interact with people in his American accent to diffuse situations

The goal of these performances was to accurately replicate what it would feel like to have a long-standing relationship with someone who you're completely responsible for, to instill in both actors a sense of weighted history

The connection between the two performers is evident in the finished film

My brother is mentally handicapped. He did the bucket of paint fill off construction truck and hit him on the head

I'm going to come out in one second. It's an emergency, all right? Please, just give me five minutes

Pattinson truly feels like a man at the end of his rope. His animalistic frustration and lived anxiety don feel like a performance They feel like a document of real trauma Good Time positioned Pattinson as a creative force to be taken seriously in critical circles and on a mainstream level The film produced on a budget of million was a breakout hit

Look, losers like you're incapable of taking care of themselves. You're either leeching off mommy or leeching off welfare or living off the government in jail. That's you

You don't know the first thing about me, bro. This, paired with his 2019 film The Lighthouse

legitimized Pattinson in a way that could never have been predicted. Yes, of course, people knew him as the guy from the Twilight movies

but Pattinson's genuine commitment to the craft of acting and a passion for pursuing artistically avant-garde projects

manifested in a near-complete reversal of how he was perceived. He went from being a pretty face

into becoming one of the most respected actors of a generation. The Queen of England's old fancy housekeeper

couldn't even done no better than what I'd done, because I tell you, I scrubbed this here place twice over

Can I say you did nothing of the sort? This led to 2020, the year Pattinson appeared in Christopher Nolan's Tenet

and he was cast in a new Batman project. Released in 2022, the Batman was one of the most critically acclaimed

and widely beloved superhero movies released that year. And Pattinson's shamanic and ghost-like performance in the film

was heralded as a bold new interpretation of the iconic nocturnal vigilante

The hell are you supposed to be? I'm vengeance. This casting was a direct reflection of Pattinson's work over the past five years

A surprising payoff for his interest in exploring the bizarre and the unusual

Cultural reinvention is the most difficult task any actor has. To shed the skin of the person they've been performing as and develop a new persona

To pivot and evolve as an artist. Very few creative people can manifest this in their career

Let alone when you're at the top of a financial hill and could easily ride the typecasting gravy train and never have to work a day in your life

But that's not what Pattinson did. He chose to walk both paths, be mindful of the commercial realities of his work

but never let them dictate his artistic decisions