‘Cosmopolis’: The role Robert Pattinson didn’t think he was good enough to play
Over the course of his career, Robert Pattinson has risen from a teen heartthrob best known for playing the brooding vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight series to an established Hollywood star.
Before starring in the Twilight series, Pattinson appeared in a few movies, notably playing Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. However, his role as the immortal Cullen allowed him to become a sensation, with posters of his face plastering the walls of most teenage girls worldwide. Based on Stephanie Meyers’ books of the same name, the film series was hugely popular, becoming one of the most talked-about franchises of the 21st century.
Twilight consisted of five movies, ending with Breaking Dawn – Part Two in 2012. By this point, Pattinson didn’t shy away from expressing his disinterest in the series, which he had certainly outgrown. He once admitted that he thought the book series was something that “wasn’t supposed to be published,” he told E!, also admitting in other interviews that he has hardly watched any of the films.
Since Twilight and its four sequels, Pattinson has sought to break away from the notions people have had of him. He has leaned into many darker and more experimental roles, working with acclaimed directors who seem like a far cry from the filmmakers behind the popular Twilight saga. Immediately after the first instalment in the series, he appeared in Little Ashes, where Pattinson took matters into his own hands and actually masturbated in a scene in what is undoubtedly a bold artistic choice.
It was perhaps this boldness and willingness to dedicate himself so entirely to his part that attracted David Cronenberg to the young star. When casting for his film Cosmopolis, which featured actors like Juliette Binoche, Samantha Morton, and Paul Giamatti, the body horror pioneer expressed interest in working with Pattinson. Cronenberg knew that Pattinson was a committed and impressive actor whose star power would help to get the film off the ground.
Yet, Pattinson feared that he wasn’t good enough to star in Cronenberg’s film – a director known for making classics like Videodrome, The Fly, and Crash. Pattinson claimed during an interview with The Playlist: “I suddenly realised I had no idea how to do it at all. I knew it was really good but I was terrified of even calling. Actors are always trained to bullshit, even if you hate something. And I had nothing to say, at all. Because David did the script he obviously knows what it’s about.”
Yet, despite Pattinson’s worries about not understanding the script, he was soon reassured. “As soon as I said, ‘I don’t know what it’s about,’ he said, ‘Me neither.'”
Still, that wasn’t enough to convince Pattinson to accept the role. He hadn’t done anything like this before, and he was unsure he would be able to pull it off. “Then I spent a week trying to figure out how to get out of it, where I got to the point where I was going to have to call up and say, ‘I’m too scared because I don’t think I’m a good enough actor and I’m a pussy.’ I didn’t want to have that conversation.”
In the end, he accepted the part, but the film left many people in a state of confusion. It remains one of Pattison’s lesser-known movies, but since then, he has gone on to work with more arthouse and indie directors, like Claire Denis (High Life), Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse), and the Safdie brothers (Good Time), while also starring in more mainstream cuts like Tenet and The Batman.
