Robert Pattinson’s disastrous audition for a forgotten blockbuster: “They thought I was on drugs”
Almost every major Hollywood name has a standout audition story that’s so humbling it stayed with them forever. And if they don’t, they’re probably lying. Just ask Robert Pattinson.
When you look at the trajectory of Pattinson’s career, one thing that stands out is that he didn’t much entertain the idea of pursuing an acting career until much later. A nuisance at school who later found his footing with English literature before dabbling in modelling and music, Pattinson sort of fell into drama after taking some advice from his father to join the local theatre group to ease his shyness.
From there, he secured a couple of roles, one of which was the lead role in Our Town, during which a talent agent in the audience noticed him and felt he might have something special. This connection led him to bigger and better opportunities, like roles on stage in Macbeth and Tess of the d’Urbervilles, before he eventually landed his breakthrough role as Cedric Diggory in 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Although he’d landed film roles before, this was probably the first time others noticed his talent on a larger scale, and was even labelled by some as the next most important rising talent in recent film history. It makes sense – after all, Pattinson brought something unique to the fantasy franchise that not even the lead stars could, which was a certain grittiness that carried over into many of his later defining roles.
Despite his stint as the ever-charming Edward Cullen in the Twilight series (which has since become a worthy cult classic), Pattinson has since more than proved his prominent position in the Hollywood arena with roles that are often relatable, captivating and undeniably big-screen calibre, spanning everything from unsettling antiheroes to charming operatives in high-stakes situations.
On the subject of acting, Pattinson also has a pretty unique view. While most of his choices are fuelled by a base level of anxiety and shyness that have always been there, he also compares the art of acting to photography, using his experience playing a photographer in Anton Corbijn’s 2015 biopic Life as a touchpoint when exploring how the two share common traits.
“Both of them are almost entirely dependent on the material,” he told The Talks, “Especially if you’re doing stuff like taking photos of famous people and really talented people who are incredibly interesting and charismatic.” He added that, as an actor, you’re often dependent on everybody else, which can become grating if you want to pursue greater artistic freedom or independence.
Sometimes, though, taking others’ advice and opinions on board is crucial, especially if you want to progress to the next level as a performer. And sometimes, that means receiving audition feedback that might be hard to swallow. Back in 2006, Pattinson auditioned for the fantasy film Eragon, acting out a scene where his character is delighted to unexpectedly stumble across the discovery of a dragon egg.
“It’s supposed to be a heroic moment,” the actor explained, adding that he instead acted out the scene as if it were some sort of tragedy. He didn’t get the part, of course, but he also left with a particularly brutal piece of feedback that stayed with him for a long while.
“I remember my manager saying they thought I was on drugs,” he said.
