60 Seconds with Robert Pattinson

This 23-year-old British actor found teenage fame in two Harry Potter hits. But his role as a vampire in Twilight has made him a heart throb.

Interviewer: Where did you grow up?

Robert: I was born in London. Mum worked for a modelling agency and Dad imported vintage cars from the U.S.

Interviewer: Is it true you were quite the rebel as a kid?

Robert: I was quite bad. I got expelled from school at 12. But that was a turning point. I went to a new school, I discovered hair gel and I became cool! Interviewer: Is it also true you didn’t have a natural passion for acting?

Robert: It was true. I started doing plays when I was 15. I only did it because my dad saw a group of pretty girls in a restaurant and he asked them where they came from and they said drama group. He said ‘Son, that is where you need to go.’ So I got involved in amateur theatre at the Barnes Theatre Group, in suburban London, and loved it.

Interviewer: And then you got a huge break!

Robert: I got a few small movie roles. Then I met Mike Newell, the director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2003. A week later, he offered me the role of Cedric Diggory. He’s a pretty cool character. He’s actually just a genuinely good person, but he doesn’t make a big deal about it.

Interviewer: How did you feel when you got the leading role in Twilight?

Robert: I specifically hadn’t done anything that anyone would see since Harry Potter, because I wanted to teach myself how to act. At first I was apprehensive about auditioning for the role. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to live up to the ‘perfection’ expected from the character in the best-selling books series. I haven’t even seen the movie yet. When I watch myself I get sick, every single time. Interviewer: What’s the secret of the chemistry between you and Kristen Stewart in the movie?

Robert: We played the roles in the opposite way from the actual books. I played Edward Cullen as this god who is broken at this normal girl’s feet. I’m a wreck and she’s really strong. I think that really works.

Interviewer: Did your Harry Potter experience prepare you for the phenomenon of Twilight?

Robert: Yes. I’ve learnt how to deal with the media, how to be the hot thing for a few months and then just disappear. Once you’re immune to failure, nothing matters. I can’t see any advantage to fame. I’m happy with the life I have now.

Adapted from In Current, May/June 2009