“I’ve felt like an imposter from day one,” says Robert Pattinson
INTERVIEW MICHELE MANELIS ILLUSTRATION TOM MORGAN JONES
He was dismissed as little more than a brooding heartthrob after starring in the Twilight phenomenon. But when the four-year franchise ended in 2012, Robert Pattinson sidestepped a slew of big commercial offers and threw himself instead into edgier fare: Maps to the Stars (2014), The Childhood of a Leader (2016), and the same year, The Lost City of Z.
Last year’s Good Time, meanwhile, may have proved a final nail of sorts in his pretty boy coffin. It’s almost as if Twilight’s Edward Cullen is but a distant memory, which is exactly the way Robert Pattinson likes it. So now that his days of avoiding the paparazzi are behind him, the British actor reflects on his journey to Hollywood in a Veni Magazine exclusive.
VM: When you first arrived in Hollywood, what were you most naive about?
RP: The most naive thing about coming to Hollywood was thinking that I’d get any job at all. It’s fairly ridiculous.
VM: Were any of your expectations accurate?
RP: I definitely didn’t have any accurate ones. The first time I came to LA was to audition for Need For Speed: Tokyo Drift, and I didn’t get it. I decided on coming because I really liked my agent and it always just seemed like an exciting place to be, especially being a 17-year-old from London. It’s paradise at first glance, but on second glance…
VM: Did you ever go through a time when you thought you’d give up?
RP: Many times. One of the key times was just before the Twilight auditions. I flew over to America when I was 21 to audition for something else and catastrophically failed in that audition. I called my parents and said, “I can’t deal with this level of humiliation anymore!” And they said, “Well, don’t do it anymore if it’s hurting you.” But then the Twilight audition was the next day and it was a last-gasp thing. It ended up being kind of a really fun audition and then obviously the whole story happened after that.
VM: Imagine if you didn’t do the Twilight audition and went back to London. Sounds like fate stepped in.
RP: Yes, I definitely believe in fate. I think it was something to do with my parents agreeing with me, so that ultimately I had to disagree with them. That happens even to this day.
VM: Would you say you were more confident when you were younger?
RP: In my early twenties and late teens I was very certain of where I was going. I wish I could kind of get that back again.
VM: What’s your definition of making it?
RP: Having people anticipate your next job rather than having to push it out and force people to see it.
VM: Was there a moment when you felt you’d made it?
RP: When I was 18 and promoting Harry Potter. I went to Tokyo, and I remember just looking out the window at the skyline and being like, “How did this happen? This is absolutely insane.” So after that, it’s been gravy.
VM: Do you ever think “Why me?”
RP: Every day. I’ve felt like an impostor from day one.
VM: What forms of art inspire you?
RP: To inspire a mood, probably music. To inspire ideas, probably books, and to inspire energy and enthusiasm, probably movies.
VM: What advice would you give to a budding young actor?
RP: Take dancing lessons, play more team sports, and start working out early. It will be good for you in the long run.
VM: How do you get through difficult times? Do you meditate or take long walks?
RP: I do meditate, actually. It’s a fairly new thing. And it does actually work, which is kind of amazing. But also, I’ve got a really good group of friends whom I’ve had since I was a kid, and our relationship between each other never really changes.
VM: What is your first thought when you wake up in the morning?
RP: Very panicky. Then I immediately I check the emails to see if there is any good news.
VM: I think we all wake up in a panic now because of emails and social media.
RP: Yeah, 100 percent. It’s not good.
VM: What has been your favorite travel destination for work?
RP: Probably Columbia when I was shooting The Lost City of Z. Traveling up the river in the middle of nowhere in a little boat every day to work, it doesn’t really get more exotic than that.
VM: Can you still go places and not get hassled?
RP: I think I have aged-out of that phase. Everyone is like, “Oh you look like the guy from Twilight, but 20 years older.” Nowadays, people kind of leave me alone a majority of the time.
VM: What’s the first thing you do when you return to London?
RP: I immediately make Marmite on a crumpet.
VM: You realize that Marmite is inferior to Vegemite?
RP: I think you’re entirely wrong about that.
