You know those celebrities that look like they became actors on accident? They were simply at the right place at the right time and made it big? That’s actually what happened to Robert Pattinson. He explained his journey from backup dancer in a drama club to household name during his solo panel at Vulture Festival (a pop culture extravaganza that took place in Hollywood on November 18th—19th, which included dozens of other actors speaking at panels about films and movies).
His first performance ever was the title-character of Cinderella for his all-boys school’s production when he was around ten years old. (Yes, he dressed up as a Disney princess for a school play).
He later auditioned for an under-eighteen drama group for Guys and Dolls, even though he had never sang or danced in front of anyone before.
“I didn’t sing anything. I didn’t even get a part. I got the part of the Cuban dancer,” he said.
The next performance for the drama club, all the older kids left for college, and nobody left was tall enough to play George in Our Town– except for Pattinson. And that’s how he got cast in the lead role.
“The guy who owned the building that the drama club– his daughter’s best friend who was my agent, who is still my agent now, came down to this play,” he said. “I genuinely had not even thought about doing it as a job and then I signed with her. And then within a week she was like, ‘Do you want to play Brad Pitt’s cousin in Troy?”
He didn’t get the part. He did, however, keep going to auditions.
After getting one or two small credits to his name, he ended up in a little known series called Harry Potter as everybody’s favorite Hufflepuff: Cedric Diggory.
“The way they did those movies, it was amazing how it felt very sane,” he said about the experience of working in such a big franchise. “All the kids were going to school there, and they were all very normal kids… that’s why they’re all very normal and grounded.”
He said he’s seen the cast a few times since, but hasn’t kept in close contact with his Harry Potter friends.
He then found himself at the center of his own worldwide phenomenon: Twilight.
“It was such a surprise to me, the success of the first one. There wasn’t really a comparative movie series. There was only really Harry Potter and High School Musical.”
He explained that the shared experience of going to Comic Con with the Twilight cast and meeting the fans was really exciting, especially with the success of the first movie.
“To this day it’s probably one of the most fun shoots I’ve ever done. It was a huge cast, everyone was there at the same time in Portland, everyone was relatively around about the same age and it was really fun,” he said.
Now, Pattinson is doing a lot more serious, hard-hitting work like his new movie Good Time.
“I’ve been trying to look for a super high velocity movie for a long time,” he said.
He found that in the crime-drama thriller, directed by the Safdie Brothers. He said that when filming, they pretty much just ran throughout New York shooting police chase scenes, which was exciting and different for him.
As an actor in movies to the scale of Twilight and Good Time, Pattinson deals with a lot of fame.
Even though he doesn’t have social media, when he did, he often got hacked and now tries to stay out of the public light. Regardless of being absent from social media, Pattinson still want to use his name for good and continue making art.
“For a long time, I was just trying to stay sane. It’s difficult to know how to wield (fame), especially when you’ve fallen into the job,” he said. “All I’m concerned about is getting another job. I’m always convinced it’s going to be the end.”
Photos Courtesy of Charley Gallay/ Getty Images for Vulture Festival