The Sunday Paper Interview

In the ‘Twilight’ zone

SP’s interview with the vampire

Bobby the vampire player: Robert Pattinson(right) with Kristen Stewart

BY BERT OSBORNE
 
Unless you’re part of the massive teen fan base that’s been eagerly anticipating the release of “Twilight”—the first of a proposed series of movies based on the wildly popular books by Stephenie Meyer—you may never have heard of Robert Pattinson before. The 22-year-old British actor plays Edward Cullen, the ageless vampire (108 going on 18) whose star-crossed high-school romance with the mortal Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) fuels the franchise. With basically only a small role (as Cedric Diggory) in two Harry Potter films (“The Goblet of Fire,” “The Order of the Phoenix”) to his credit, Pattinson is poised to make a very big splash. He talked about the new movie during a recent interview in Los Angeles.
 
Q You were quoted at a recent “Twilight” event at ComicCon describing the experience as “entering the gates of Hell.”
 
A Yeah, that’s been following me around a bit [laughs]. I really didn’t mean it in any derogatory sense. All I meant was, there was this great noise when we arrived for that, these thousands upon thousands of young girls screaming out my name. I knew there was this great anticipation about the movie, because we’d been aware of all the blogs being posted online during the filming, but I think that was the first actual sign we had of just how huge this thing really was.

How does it compare to a lot of the hoopla surrounding all the “Harry Potter” movies?
 
It’s completely different. By the time I did my bits [in the “Potter” films], there’d already been three earlier movies, so everything was sort of operating like a slick, well-oiled machine. With “Twilight,” on the other hand, everything kept growing and changing and reformulating as we were working on it. We were basically making a little indie movie with a small company [Summit Entertainment]. … We definitely weren’t making a blockbuster. There were no big names in the cast. We were scrambling the whole time about how to set things up, how to make the characters interesting enough to support a franchise. I mean, Edward doesn’t age. He doesn’t really change in any dramatic way. Naturally, the first movie lays down a lot of the ground rules about vampires and whatnot, but we put a lot of thought into it. Some of it was off the cuff, reinventing whole scenarios with the other movies in mind.
  
Did you ever feel it was hopeless, living up to the expectations of fans of the “Twilight” books?
 
I wouldn’t say hopeless. I sort of expected a certain amount of criticism, and even appreciated it. I mean, I was almost embarrassed even going into the audition. Edward’s described as this perfect man, with an impeccable face and body. Everything about him is just amazing. There’s no way I could ever live up to that [laughs]. I was quite thankful when the initial reaction to my casting wasn’t 100 percent positive, because I’m not perfect. A lot of times, I look like a bum. It was like, “Cool. Maybe I can just be a character actor instead of a leading man.”
 
In the upcoming film “Little Ashes,” you play Salvador Dali, right?
 
Actually, I did that movie before “Twilight,” and it was a defining moment for me. I’d been disinterested and thinking about giving up acting before that role came along, and I mainly took it because it seemed like an excuse to take a three-month vacation in Spain. I didn’t speak a word of Spanish, so it was pretty intense, but it gave me a reason to focus on the script and do a lot of research into the character, to a ridiculous degree. It was the first time I really felt satisfied with my work, and that made me want to keep acting. I want to bring that intensity to every job, including [“Twilight”]. Even though it’s essentially a teen movie, I was determined not to make it too cheesy, as if I were only cashing a paycheck.
 
Why had you become disinterested in acting?
 
Mainly because most movies being made now are designed in such a way that it’s all about making a lot of money. … I’m not interested in simply adding more shit to the pile. I’d rather just not be a part of it, in that case. SP

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