Interview with a vampire

‘Twilight’ star Robert Pattinson on being a sudden sensation

INTERVIEW. Although Robert Pattinson is the last person who would believe it, he is now and forever after will be Edward Cullen, the teenage vampire from Stephenie Meyer’s series of “Twilight” books. Before this, he was best known as Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter series. And while that magical series had a devoted fanbase, nothing could prepare him for the near Beatlemania adoration that these professed “fanpires” have exhibited.
In conversation, Pattinson is thoughtful and candid, and not nearly as brooding as the character that has made him a reluctant heart throb, but true to Meyer’s writing, he does frequently brush from his face his “un-tidy bronze-colored hair.” We sat with the actor last Friday, just hours before it was announced that Summit Entertainment had acquired the rights to the next three books in the series, and a few hours before Pattinson faced a mob of almost 1,000 screaming teenage girls waiting for his autograph in the Saugus Mall.

Is it strange that when people read the words that Stephenie Meyer wrote, they now think of you?
I never actually thought about that! You know, it’s weird, because even before I did the Harry Potter thing, when I was reading the book, I could see the three kids’ faces. I can’t do that [with this]. … It’s weird, because I definitely didn’t picture myself when I was reading this.

Who did you picture?
I didn’t really picture anybody, but with Harry Potter, I read that, and I could see myself doing it, but with this, not at all. I was desperately looking for any little parts of it which I could relate to, and it took a really long time. With Harry Potter, I read it once, and I was like, “Yup. Done!” But with this, even when I got it, I was like, “I don’t know how to play it at all.” So yeah, I still don’t think people would really think of me when reading it.

It must be interesting with all of these kids who are into the book, how when you were named the part, you became it overnight. Is it strange that you’re causing a sensation, partly because of the character?
Well, wholly because of the character. It is weird, but I guess it is good for ego control, I guess, because you’re going to all these places, and having people screaming, “I love you!” and it’s like, “you’re not even seeing what’s in front of you anymore. You’ve come in with a completely solid opinion of what you’re going to see, and it doesn’t matter. It could be anyone and you’d have the same reaction.” It’s really kind of fascinating because I remember when I first got cast there was a petition with 75,000 people signing it, saying “This guy can’t play the part.”

How did you get wind of this?
My mum sent it.

Was her name on it?
[laughs] Yeah, my mum didn’t even want me to play it.

The petition must have been rough on your morale…
No, I was expecting it. Anyone who goes out for the part, I mean, you’ve read the book and you’ve seen the descriptions. They gave me five months and when I just read the first few descriptions of Edward and it was mentioning things like his rock hard abs and chiseled everything, and last year I was doing music, and drinking every night, and I looked like shit when I went into the audition, so in the audition I kind of played it the opposite, because he’s so confident and suave and I was just not convincing as that at all, and so I just kind of tried to think of something.

Did you make sure your manager put in the contract that you wouldn’t have to get plastic surgery and liposuction?
Initially, at the beginning when we were doing pre-production stuff, they literally wanted to do stuff like that.

Are you serious? I was joking.
Yeah, because [in the book] they always go on about his perfect teeth, and I never thought about my teeth before. I’m the only one in my family who hasn’t had braces. My two sisters had braces for years, and I never had them and I was always quite proud of that. And so when I started, within a week I had to wear invisalign things, and I didn’t even really know what that was.

I don’t know what it is. What is it?
It’s a brace you put in, and I went into this dentist in Beverly Hills, and there’s this techno music playing, and it was the most L.A. thing I’ve ever seen in my life. And there’s this guy saying, “Yeah, we’ll do some gum surgery at the back, and cut off your gum at the back to make it bigger, and it’s standard procedure. I did this with Matt Perry.” I was like, “What are you talking about?” And the producers are in the corner, writing it all down, going, “How much will this cost? How much will that cost?”

So you did go through with it?
No. Luckily I had my manager with me, and I was listening to them write it all down, and was just thinking, “Yeah, maybe my teeth could be improved a little bit,” but when they started talking about a four-week recovery period after gum surgery, I was like, “What the fuck?”

Well, it’s interesting, because there’s no way this movie isn’t going to be successful. Might as well have gum surgery, right? I’m joking about the surgery, but the success, I mean, there’s such a built-in audience, and the stories for the sequels are already written. Is there a plan in place for movie sequels?
Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t want to jinx it. There’s still a chance. I mean, the more cities I go to, and the more that thousands of people turn up, it convinces me a little bit more every day. A few weeks ago it could have quite easily just been a very passionate and fixated Internet fanbase of like 20,000 people, but now it really seems it’s getting so much coverage everywhere.

Well it’s the whole thing of “nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s like this mall thing. I really didn’t want to do it at the beginning. And now it just seems like a really good idea. But whenever I’m going through customs at all these airports going to the next city, they’re like, “Oh you’re the guy that’s been causing all the mayhem,” which I guess means it’s definitely working. I think though, the second one has to have a lot of CGI and stuff, so this one needs a significant amount of money to do it. It’s funny, because I don’t think anyone thought this would happen. The production company didn’t know, and it’s bizarre. “Twilight,” when it was just a book, even though it sold tons of copies and people turned up to Stephenie Meyer’s meetings and signings, it was a cult thing. It wasn’t a mainstream thing at all. And they’re making a cult movie. But it just ended up being this massive thing.

Have you read all of the books? And if so, how does it inform your performance to know your own arc beyond the film?
I read the first three. I haven’t read the fourth one.

And how about the one that was leaked onto the Internet, where it’s part of the first book, from Edward’s perspective?
Yeah, and I read that when I was shooting. When you read “Twilight,” you don’t even really know who [Edward] is, even at the end of it, so I read all of them just to try to pick up what key facts you can get just to build something. But I haven’t read the fourth one because everything’s concluded in the fourth one and so I thought it would be silly to do that. I mean, the whole point of the series is the suspense and tension between everyone.

So you don’t want to spoil it for yourself, even though the story involves you now?
I want to be able to say, “I want to do this, because I think this could happen.”

If there is a sequel and a third and fourth, did doing the Potter series prepare you, by watching Daniel go through it?
I think it’s a different thing. For one thing, he’s in every single scene of every single film. I think after eight films, and charting his whole childhood, it’s insane. I mean, I’m 22 now, and Edward is such an inhuman character that you can’t really be associated with him for the rest of your life. It’s impossible. And plus he’s not really in the second or third one as much. Plus, I’d have to stay 17 forever.

Well, there is always that plastic surgery option.
[laughs]

It seems you’re always doing fantasy movie roles. And this winter you’re going to play a real person, but it’s Salvador Dali, who is probably the least normal real person to ever exist. Are you ever going to play an average Joe?
I’ve been trying! [laughs] Every role I get is this weird fantasy thing. I’ve been trying right from the start to do that. This thing I’m doing in January will be the first normal guy I’ve played. It’s really bizarre. It’s called “Parts Per Billion,” and it’s with Dennis Hopper, and this character can actually communicate with the rest of humanity.


Back to “Twilight,” did you seek any advice from Stephenie?
Well, she kept saying, “I’m sorry for ruining your life.” But, no, I don’t really ask for advice from anyone. I don’t understand how anyone could be jaded by it. There are a lot of attitudes to take, like “Oh, it’s promotion.” And some people treat it like it’s really boring and pointless, and if you do that, then you start to feel like it’s really boring and pointless. But I just try to think. And I go to different cities, but I really don’t get to see any of the city except the inside of a hotel room.

And thousands of screaming teenagers.
Well, yes, but even that has become part of the job. It’s like “6:30, go and get the screaming people.” But it’s not in a bad way! I mean, the first few times it happened, it’s so overwhelming. And then after a while it becomes kind of like it’s just standard.

Do people recognize you when you are able to go out?
Well, they don’t really, anywhere. It’s just weird little things, like when you go to a bar or restaurant or something, and one person’s read the newspaper about the mall things, and they just ring someone up, and then when you go outside, there’s people there. It’s like, “Ugh. I’m gonna have to go home now.” And people just start following you. That’s what happened in New York, I was promoting and no one had any idea who I was, and then I’d leave somewhere and there would be paparazzi following you for the rest of the night.

It’s the quickness of cellphone culture working against you.
Camera phones are the worst invention in the world.

I didn’t know until recently that you were a singer and a songwriter.
I’m not, really.

You have a nice voice though.
Thank you.

Are you ever going to do anything with it?
I don’t know. I was going to, but when you’re doing acting at the same time, it just…I don’t know. It’s not even that it looks bad. It’s just that there’s such a stigma attached to it.

Yeah, I’m right now thinking if there’s anyone who really ever got away with it. I mean Keanu Reeves was only the bassist and people scrutinized him.
[laughs] Yeah, he didn’t even have any involvement. He just put his head down. I mean, I’d like to try something. I want to make an album, but I don’t really care if people buy it or not. I wouldn’t really promote it. I wouldn’t really care if people liked it.

Wait, I just thought of one! Vincent Gallo. He’s done OK.
Yeah, but Vincent Gallo didn’t really do “Twilight.”