 | | Few actors are fortunate enough to acquire international fame and stardom on the back of just one film. But Robert Pattinson is a lucky young man. Voted Yahoo’s Top Movie Heartthrob and Hello magazine’s Most Attractive Man in 2008, Pattinson is one of only a handful of young actors who managed to attain overnight stardom. British-born Robert Pattinson won fame when he starred in the film Twilight. The film is based on the highly popular vampire fantasy novels by author Stephanie Meyer. Pattinson plays the part of a |
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100-year-old vampire called Edward Cullen, with the body of a 17-year-old youth. From the moment it came out, Twilight was a box office hit across the world. And now, whenever Pattinson appears in public, he attracts literally thousands of screaming and adoring teenage fans.
It is easy to underestimate the degree of media attention that Robert Pattinson attracts. Police had to come onto the streets to calm the crowds at Twilight’s premiere in Los Angeles and San Francisco. At the British premiere in December 2008, adoring fans turned up at 3.00am to be sure of getting a red-carpet view when Pattinson arrived. Thousands of Twi-hards - the name given to the legions of besotted female fans - slavishly follow Pattinson’s every move. Mobbed by fans while leaving his trailer to shoot one scene in New York, Pattinson describes the fans reaction to him as “surreal”. While he is happy to sign autographs, he puts his foot down when fans beg him to bite their necks. He laughs, “I tell them it will hurt too much”. Indeed, one film critic jokingly labeled the phenomenal success of the Twilight films “Beatlemania with fangs”!
But despite the widespread praise of his acting performance, the reading public did not respond well to the news that Pattinson was to play the part of Edward Cullen in the Twilight movie. Pattinson beat 3,000 other actors when he won the part as the leading vampire. However, fans of the Twilight novels complained that he was not American and – even more surprisingly – they argued that he was too ugly. Critics even set up an online petition which collected a total of 75,000 signatures calling for Pattinson to be replaced. Fortunately, Pattinson proved his detractors wrong.
Robert Pattinson was born well away from public scrutiny on 13 May 1986 in London. Together with his two older sisters, Lizzy and Victoria, Pattinson enjoyed a relatively uncomplicated childhood. Although Pattinson’s parents had no acting experience, they encouraged him to join a nearby theatre group. When he was 15, Pattinson joined the well respected Barnes Theatre Company. It provided the young aspiring actor with valuable experience both front and back stage. At the same time, Pattinson took on any available part-time modeling jobs.
Apart from a couple of small roles in television, Pattinson’s first big break came in 2003 when he landed a part in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Playing the doomed Cedric Diggory, the hero of the wizard school Hufflepuff, he was singled out for praise by several film critics. As a result, he was awarded the British Star of Tomorrow by the British newspaper The Times in 2005. Pattinson’s role in the Harry Potter film was a turning point in his career. The film also provided new friendships. The Goblet of Fire co-actors Stanislav Ianevski and Katie Leung remain firm pals to this day.
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Glossary
Vampire (n)
a fantasy character who feeds on human blood.
Underestimate (v)
to think someone has less power or ability than they really do.
Premiere (n)
the first public performance of a film or a play.
Slavishly (adv)
following what other people do without thinking on your own.
Mob (n)
a large group of excited or angry people.
Detractor (n)
someone who publicly criticises others.
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