Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Robert Pattinson

 
Who2 Biography: Robert Pattinson, Actor
 

  • Born: 13 May 1986
  • Birthplace: London, England
  • Best Known As: Edward the vampire in the movie Twilight

With his rippling brow and matinee-idol chin, Robert Pattinson became a movie heartthrob after appearing as the ill-fated Cedric in two Harry Potter movies. Pattinson was born in London and began acting in his teens, performing with the historic Barnes Theater Company in London. He won a small part in a German TV production of Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelungs (2004) and was darkly handsome in a brief appearance opposite Reese Witherspoon in the 2004 film Vanity Fair. That led to his biggest break: he was chosen to play the young wizard Cedric Diggory in the films Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). He was then cast as young vampire Edward Cullen--smitten with Kristen Stewart's Bella Swan--in the film Twilight (2008), based on the popular teen books by Stephenie Meyer.

The character Cedric Diggory is a student in the Hufflepuff house at Hogwarts and a rival of Harry Potter for the heart of Cho Chang (played in the film by Katie Leung).

Search unanswered questions...
Enter a word or phrase...
All Community Q&A Reference topics
 
Actor: Robert Pattinson
Top
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: 2000s
  • Major Genres: Fantasy, Drama
  • Career Highlights: Twilight, Unbound Captives, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
  • First Major Screen Credit: Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King (2004)

Biography

London-born Robert Pattinson found his acting niche almost instantly, kicking off his career with a string of fantasy roles. After catching the acting bug through amateur theater, the young thespian made his first film appearance at the age of 18, appearing in 2004's Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King, based on a Nordic legend. He followed this up by joining the Harry Potter franchise the following year, playing Cedric Diggory in Goblet of Fire, as well as the subsequent movies. Having captured the hearts of many young fantasy fans, Pattison then signed on to play the dreamy vampire heartthrob Edward in the film adaptation of the young-adult novel Twilight. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
 
Wikipedia: Robert Pattinson
Top
Robert Pattinson

Pattinson at the Twilight premiere in Los Angeles
Born Robert Thomas Pattinson
13 May 1986 (1986-05-13) (age 23)
London, England, UK
Occupation Actor, model, musician
Years active 2004–present

Robert Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986)[1] is an English actor, model and musician.[2] He is best known for playing Edward Cullen in the film adaptation of Twilight, based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer, and for the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[3][4][5]

Contents

Early life

Pattinson was born in London, England. His mother, Clare, worked for a modeling agency, and his father, Richard, imported vintage cars from the U.S.[6] Pattinson attended Tower House School and Harrodian School.[7] He became involved in amateur theatre through the Barnes Theatre Company. After some backstage experience there, he took on acting roles. He caught the attention of an acting agent in a production of Tess of the D'Urbervilles and began looking for professional roles. Since then he has performed in an amateur version of Macbeth at the Old Sorting Office Arts Centre, as well as trying his hand at modeling.

Career

Modeling

He began his modeling career when he was twelve years old, but it wound down only four years later. He has blamed his lack of work as a model on his masculine appearance. Pattinson explained in December 2008, "When I first started I was quite tall and looked like a girl, so I got lots of jobs, because it was during that period where the androgynous look was cool. Then, I guess, I became too much of a guy, so I never got any more jobs. I had the most unsuccessful modeling career."[8]

Pattinson appeared in the advertising campaign for Hackett's Autumn 2007 collection.

Acting

He had supporting roles in the made for television film Ring of the Nibelungs in 2004 and in director Mira Nair’s Vanity Fair, although his scenes in the latter were deleted, and only appear on the DVD version. In May 2005 he was slated to appear in the UK premiere of The Woman Before at the Royal Court Theatre, but was fired shortly before the opening night and was replaced by Tom Riley.

Later that year he played Cedric Diggory in the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Consequently, he was named that year's British Star of Tomorrow by The Times.[9] He also has more than once been touted as the next Jude Law.[10][7][11]

Pattinson played Edward Cullen in the movie Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer's bestselling novel of the same name, which was released on 21 November 2008 in North America. According to TV Guide, Pattinson was initially apprehensive about auditioning for the role of Edward Cullen, fearful that he wouldn't be able to live up to the "perfection" expected from the character.[12] He will reprise his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight sequel, New Moon, which began filming in March 2009.[13]

Pattinson also had lead roles in the feature films Little Ashes (in which he plays Salvador Dalí), How To Be (a British comedy) and the short film The Summer House. In 2010, he will appear in a theatre production for producer David Pugh.[14]

He appeared and presented at the 81st Academy Awards on 22 February 2009.

Music

Pattinson plays guitar and piano, and composes his own music.[15] He also appears as the singer of two songs on the Twilight soundtrack: "Never Think", which he co-wrote with Sam Bradley,[16] and "Let Me Sign", which was written by Marcus Foster and Bobby Long.[17] The songs were included in the film after director Catherine Hardwicke added Pattinson's recordings into an early cut without his knowledge, and he agreed that "one of them specifically, it really made the scene better. It was like it was supposed to be there."[2] The soundtrack for the film How To Be features three original songs performed by Pattinson[18] and written by composer Joe Hastings.[19]

Aside from recording for the soundtracks, Pattinson has said, "I've never really recorded anything - I just played in pubs and stuff", and when asked about a professional music career, he said, "Music is my back-up plan if acting fails."[2] In 2008, he also performed with his first girlfriend's current boyfriend's band, called Bad Girls.[20]

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
2004 Ring of the Nibelungs Giselher Television film
2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Cedric Diggory
2006 The Haunted Airman Toby Jugg Television film
2007 The Bad Mother's Handbook Daniel Gale Television film
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Cedric Diggory Cameo
2008 How To Be Art Strasbourg Film Festival Award for Best Actor[21]
Twilight Edward Cullen MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Performance Male
MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss
MTV Movie Award for Best Fight
2009 Little Ashes Salvador Dalí
New Moon Edward Cullen post-production
2010 Remember Me Tyler Roth filming

References

  1. ^ "Robert Pattinson". People.com. http://www.people.com/people/robert_pattinson. Retrieved on 2009-04-03. 
  2. ^ a b c Gina McIntyre (2008-10-09). "Robert Pattinson on his 'Twilight' songs: 'Music is my backup plan if acting fails'". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2008/10/robert-pattin-1.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-01. 
  3. ^ Sona Charaipotra (2008-11-14). "A Night Out With - Robert Pattinson". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/fashion/16nite.html?_r=1&ref=movies. 
  4. ^ Rebecca Murray (2008-07-31). "Robert Pattinson Discusses 'Twilight'". About.com. http://movies.about.com/od/twilight/a/twilight073108.htm. Retrieved on 2009-02-11. 
  5. ^ Hillary Atkin (2008-11-16). "Exclusive Interview: Robert Pattinson". Fandango. http://www.fandango.com/commentator_exclusiveinterview:robertpattinson_203. Retrieved on 2009-02-11. 
  6. ^ Robert Pattinson
  7. ^ a b Flora Stubbs (2005-11-17). "Potter star 'next Jude Law'". Evening Standard. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/film/article-20955856-details/Potter+star+%27next+Jude+Law%27/article.do. Retrieved on 2008-10-02. 
  8. ^ New York Magazine
  9. ^ Lisa Dillon (2005-05-26). "Almost famous". The Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article526398.ece?token=null&offset=0. Retrieved on 2008-10-02. 
  10. ^ "Top 20 Rising Stars Under 30". Saturday Night Magazine. 2008-07-29. http://www.snmag.com/MAGAZINE/Features/Top-20-Rising-Stars-Under-30.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-02. 
  11. ^ "Teen People Names 'Artists of the Year' and 'What's Next'". Starpulse. 2005-11-02. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2005/11/02/teen_people_names_artists_of_the_year_an/. Retrieved on 2008-10-02. 
  12. ^ "Before the Spotlight, Twilight's Robert Pattinson Was Intimidated by "Perfect" Role" TV Guide. November 21, 2008. Retrieved on November 26, 2008.
  13. ^ Seacrest, Ryan (Interviewer); Stewart, Kristen (Subject). (2008). On Air with Ryan Seacrest - Interview with Kristen Stewart. [Radio interview]. Event occurs at 00:02:50. http://www.kiisfm.com/cc-common/mediaplayer/player.html?redir=yes&mps=onairtemplate.php&mid=http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/24935/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/24935/3108/richmedia/kristenstewart112508.mp3?CCOMRRMID=22628719&CPROG=RICHMEDIA&MARKET=LOSANGELES-CA&NG_FORMAT=chrrhythmic&NG_ID=kiis102fm&OR_NEWSFORMAT=chr&OWNER=3108&SERVER_NAME=www.kiisfm.com&SITE_ID=842&STATION_ID=KIIS-FM&TRACK=e. Retrieved on 2008-12-14.  KIIS-FM
  14. ^ David Benedict (2009-02-13). "'Equus' closure prompts rumors". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118000137.html?categoryid=15&cs=1&nid=2562. Retrieved on 2009-02-23. 
  15. ^ "Robert Pattinson: 'I'm Really Not That Interesting'". The Improper. http://www.theimproper.com/Template_Article.aspx?IssueId=10&ArticleId=3071. Retrieved on 2009-02-01. 
  16. ^ "Sam Bradley Interview". Portrait Magazine. December 2008. http://www.portraitmagazine.net/interviews/sambradley.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-30. 
  17. ^ Becky Reed. "Twilight Star Talks Soundtrack". Click Music. http://www.clickmusic.com/articles/9942/Twilight-Star-Talks-Soundtrack.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-30. 
  18. ^ "Robert Pattinson Sings Three Songs in Indie Flick How to Be". Us Magazine. 2009-03-11. http://www.usmagazine.com/news/robert-pattinson-sings-in-indie-flick-how-to-be-2009313. 
  19. ^ "Songs composed by Joe Hastings in Indie Flick How to Be". How To Be. 2009-03-09. http://www.howtobemovie.com/soundtrack/. 
  20. ^ Katrina-Kasey Wheeler (2009-01-10). "Music: Robert Pattinson's back up plan". Pop Media Examiner. http://www.examiner.com/x-704-Pop-Media-Examiner~y2009m1d10-Music-Robert-Pattinsons-back-up-plan. 
  21. ^ Strasbourg International Film Festival: 2008 Awards

External links


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Who2 Biography. Copyright © 1998-2008 by Who2, LLC. All rights reserved. See the Robert Pattinson biography from Who2.  Read more
Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Robert Pattinson" Read more