Robert Pattinson Biography

Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor, model, musician and producer. Pattinson started his career by playing Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He later landed the leading role of Edward Cullen in the film adaptations of the Twilight novels by Stephenie Meyer, and came to worldwide fame, thus establishing himself among the highest paid and most bankable actors in Hollywood. In 2010, Pattinson was named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World, and also in the same year Forbes ranked him as one of the most powerful celebrities in the world in the Forbes Celebrity 100. Since the Twilight series ended in 2012, Pattinson has ventured into doing small independent films.

Early life

Pattinson was born in London, England. His father, Richard, imported vintage cars from America, and his mother, Clare, worked for a modelling agency. Pattinson has two elder sisters, singer Lizzy Pattinson, and Victoria Pattinson. Growing up in the Barnes suburb of London, he attended Tower House School until he was 12, and then The Harrodian School. He became involved in amateur theatre at the Barnes Theatre Company. He auditioned and was cast in a small role in Guys and Dolls. He next auditioned for Thornton Wilder's Our Town and was cast as George Gibbs. He also played in Anything Goes and Macbeth. He caught the attention of an acting agent in a production of Tess of the d'Urbervilles and began looking for professional roles.

Career

Modelling

Pattinson began modelling at the age of 12, but his workload began to decrease four years later. In December 2008, he blamed the lack of modelling work on his masculine appearance: "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 modelling career." Pattinson appeared in the advertising campaign for Hackett's autumn 2007 collection.

In June 2013, Pattinson was announced as the new face of Dior Homme fragrance and featured in the advertising campaign titled 1000 LIVES, directed by Romain Gavras and photographed by Nan Goldin. This campaign has also featured the track Whole Lotta Love by English rock band Led Zeppelin.

Acting

Early career

Pattinson 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 scheduled 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 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. For this role he was named that year's "British Star of Tomorrow" by The Times and had more than once been hailed as "the next Jude Law".

In 2006, Pattinson appeared in The Haunted Airman a psychological thriller, aired on BBC Four on 31 October, he earned favourable reviews. The Stage praised Pattinson that "he played the airman of the title with a perfect combination of youthful terror and world weary cynicism." On 19 February 2007, he appeared in a supporting role in a one-off television drama based on the best-selling novel by Kate Long The Bad Mother's Handbook.

2008"2012

In 2008, Pattinson landed the coveted role of Edward Cullen in the film Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel of the same name. According to TV Guide, Pattinson was initially apprehensive about auditioning for the role of Edward Cullen, fearful that he would not be able to live up to the "perfection" expected from the character. The film was released on 21 November 2008 and turned Pattinson into a moviestar overnight. Though the film received mixed reviews, critics praised his and co-star Kristen Stewart's chemistry in the film. The New York Times called Pattinson a "capable and exotically beautiful" actor and Roger Ebert said he was "well-chosen" for the role.

His other release of 2008, How to Be, was a low-budget comedy drama film written and directed by Oliver Irving. It screened at number of film festivals, earned mixed reviews from critics. Pattinson then starred as Salvador Dalí in the film Little Ashes a Spanish-British drama Directed by Paul Morrison. He also starred in a short film The Summer House directed by Daisy Gili. This short film later re-released as a part of an anthology film titled Love & Distrust, comprising 5 short films following eight individuals from diverse backgrounds on their quest for true contentment.

He reprised his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight sequel The Twilight Saga: New Moon which was released on 20 November 2009. The film earned a record-breaking $142,839,137 opening weekend and an overall run of $709,827,462 worldwide. Though the film received negative reviews, film critic Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune said that Pattinson was still "interesting to watch" despite the bad makeup. Bill GoodyKoontz from the Arizona Republic said that "Pattinson's actually not in the film that much, but he does his best when he's around" and Michael O'Sullivan of the Washington Post noted that his acting was "uniformly strong".

In 2009, Pattinson presented at the 81st Academy Awards. On 10 November 2009, Revolver Entertainment released the DVD Robsessed, a documentary which details Pattinson's life and popularity. His next film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was released on 30 June 2010, earning $698,491,347 worldwide. The film received mixed reviews, Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter praised Pattinson's performance, stating that "(he) makes you forget the white makeup and weird eye contact lenses - to focus on a character torn between his love for the human Bella (Stewart) and the knowledge that she'll have to let go of her beating heart if she's to stay with him forever." Will Lawrence of Empire Online praised the performance of three leads of the film by saying that "All three corners of the love triangle look sharper than before: the most accomplished actor, Stewart, still lip-biting, Lautner still pec-flexing, and Pattinson not fully shaking that fiery-eyed pout. But all have grown into their roles, cutting loose in a film that (thankfully) sidesteps the melodrama of its prequels."

Pattinson executively produced and starred in the film Remember Me, which was released on 12 March 2010. Though the film received mixed reviews, some critics praised his performance. Jake Coyle of The Associated Press said that "The young actor has an unmistakable screen presence. However in Remember Me, he pours it on thickly and self-consciously. With low eyes, sleeves rolled up just so and cigarette drooping artfully from his mouth, Tyler (like Edward Cullen) is a reluctant romantic." Ian Nathan of Empire Online stated that "this is the best thing he's done." and Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter praised his and co-star Emilie de Ravin's chemistry in the film, stating the "scenes between Pattinson and de Ravin exude genuine charm."

In 2011, he starred as Jacob Jankowski in Water for Elephants, a film adaptation of the Sara Gruen novel of the same name. The film received mixed reviews, but Pattinson's performance was praised. Film critic Richard Corliss from Time praised Pattinson for being "shy and watchful" and said that he "radiates a slow magnetism that locks the viewer's eyes on him", ultimately calling him "star quality". Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle stated that Pattinson succeeded at holding his own at the center of a major feature and was "endlessly watchable". Peter Travers of the Rolling Stone said he "smolders" in the film and Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said that "Pattinson is entirely convincing as Jacob".

Pattinson reappeared as Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn " Part 1, which was released on 18 November 2011 and earned $705,058,657 at the box office. He played Georges Duroy in a film adaptation of the 1885 novel Bel Ami, and the film had a world premiere at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. It was released on 12 February 2012.

Pattinson starred in the film adaptation of Don DeLillo's Cosmopolis, directed by David Cronenberg. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Though the film was well received, Pattinson's performance was praised. Justin Chang of Variety wrote, "An eerily precise match of filmmaker and material, Cosmopolis probes the soullessness of the 1% with the cinematic equivalent of latex gloves. ... Pattinson's excellent performance reps an indispensable asset." Robbie Collin of The Telegraph stated that it is a sensational performance from Robert Pattinson, "yes, that Robert Pattinson " as Packer. Pattinson plays him like a human caldera; stony on the surface, with volcanic chambers of nervous energy and self-loathing churning deep below." And Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly stated, "Pattinson, pale and predatory even without his pasty-white vampire makeup, delivers his frigid pensées with rhythmic confidence."

Pattinson one last time appeared as Edward Cullen in the final installment of Twilight saga, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn " Part 2 which was released on 16 November 2012, and has grossed over $829 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of the Twilight series.

2013"present

Pattinson's next film, David Michod's The Rover, also starring Guy Pearce and Scoot McNairy, is expected to be released in 2013. Pattinson reunited with Cronenberg for the second time in Maps to the Stars, which is described as a darkly comic look at Hollywood excess. Filming begin in Toronto on 8 July 2013.

In August 2012, it was announced that Pattinson has been cast alongside Naomi Watts in Werner Herzog's adaptation of Gertrude Bell's biopic film Queen of the Desert. He is also set to star in Mission: Blacklist, a psychological thriller based on the novel of the same name by military interrogator Eric Maddox. In September 2013, he joined the cast of Anton Corbijn's Life as Life magazine photographer Dennis Stock about the friendship between James Dean and Stock.

Music

Pattinson plays the guitar and piano, and composes his own music. He also appears as the singer of two songs on the Twilight soundtrack: "Never Think", which he co-wrote with Sam Bradley, and "Let Me Sign", which was written by Marcus Foster and Bobby Long. 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." The soundtrack for the film How to Be features three original songs performed by Pattinson and written by composer Joe Hastings.

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." In 2010, Pattinson was awarded the "Hollywood's Most Influential Top Unexpected Musicians" award.

In the media

Pattinson was named one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2008 and 2009 by People magazine. In 2009, he was also named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by Glamour UK. AskMen named Pattinson as one of the top 49 most influential men of 2009. In 2009, Vanity Fair named Pattinson "the most handsome man in the world" along with Angelina Jolie as the most beautiful woman in the world. He was named one of Vanity Fairs "Top Hollywood Earners of 2009" with estimated earnings of $18 million in 2009.

In December 2009, Pattinson autographed a guitar to be auctioned off for charity. He also volunteered for the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief in January 2010. GQ and Glamour both named him the "Best Dressed Man" of 2010, with GQ stating, "Extremely elegant and inspiring, the true essence of a contemporary man." In 2010, People also listed Pattinson in their "World's Most Beautiful" issue. In 2010, Pattinson politely turned down a $2 million fashion campaign with Burberry.

Britain's The Sunday Times "Rich List" put him on its "list of young millionaires" in the UK, worth £13 million. Time magazine named him as one of 2010's 100 Most Influential People in The World. In June 2010, Pattinson was named by Forbes magazine the 50th most powerful celebrity in the world with earnings $17 million. Due to Pattinson's rising fame, a wax statue of him was added to the Madame Tussauds collection in London and New York City. On 14 November 2010, Pattinson received two BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards, Best Dressed and Best Actor. In 2011, Pattinson was 15th on Vanity Fairs "Hollywood Top 40" with earnings of $27.5 million in 2010. GQ once again named Pattinson the "Best Dressed Man" of 2012. In October 2012, Pattinson was named "Sexiest Man Alive" by Glamour UK. In 2013, Pattinson was 2nd on Glamour UK's "Richest UK Celebs Under 30" with earnings of £45 million.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Vanity Fair	Adult Rawdy Crawley	Scenes cut from the theatrical version and only appear in DVD
	Ring of the Nibelungs	Giselher	TV film
2005	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	Cedric Diggory
2006	'	Toby Jugg	TV film
2007	'	Daniel Gale	TV film
	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix	Cedric Diggory	Cameo
2008	How to Be	Art
	Twilight	Edward Cullen
2009	Little Ashes	Salvador Dalí
	'	Edward Cullen
2010	Remember Me	Tyler Hawkins	Also executive producer
	'	Edward Cullen
	Love & Distrust	Richard
2011	Water for Elephants	Jacob Jankowski
	The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn " Part 1	Edward Cullen
2012	Bel Ami	Georges Duroy
	Cosmopolis	Eric Packer
	The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn " Part 2	Edward Cullen
2013	The Rover	Reynolds	Post-Production
2014	Maps to the Stars	Jerome	Post-Production

Awards and nominations

See List of awards and nominations received by Robert Pattinson for more information