“Eclipse” star Robert Pattinson speaks, in this interview, about sex appeal, a move to Tokyo, and his masochistic core.
There are certainly no interview questions which Robert Pattinson hasn’t already heard. Despite that, millions of teens in the world desperately want to repeat every world that the “Twilight” vampire gives them. Reason enough for fem.com, once more, to intercept and grill him during his PR tour for his new film, “Eclipse.”
We asked the 24 year-old about his sex-symbol image, supposed dates with Paris Hilton, and his mama, and found out about things that you still don’t know.
Robert, can you quickly summarize, for all the newcomers, what happened in the first and second parts of the Twilight Saga?
“The Plot of the first part revolves around how great it feels when you are really in love for the first time. The sequel, ‘New Moon’, in contrast, shows the negative aspects of love: the fear and doubt which emerge when you’re in a committed relationship.”
“Eclipse” starts this summer and the finale, “Breaking Dawn,” is already underway. Why the rush?
“The production has one huge problem: we actors will all be older. Because of that we don’t have a lot of time and have to really hurry.”
Speaking of older: do you know then, little tricks to keep young?
“No, the opposite, I live extremely unhealthily and do—if I’m honest—only very little to stave off the aging process.”
All the same, people consider you a sex symbol and dream-man: What is sexy in your eyes?
“Little to nothing, if I really think about it. At school, for a long time, I was a real geek. Today I’d say I’m in danger of becoming masochistic. (laughs)”
Millions of girls and boys look to you. Do you see yourself as a role model?
“Not really. I mostly want to be nice to my fellow man to treat everyone in the same manner. Many actors are inclined to raise up and look down on other people. In this career, it’s really, really easy to be a complete asshole.”
You have two older sisters. Do they always bring you back to reality?
“Oh yeah. Already from the time that I was 18 they explained to me: if you hadn’t started styling your hair with gel, then you still would have always been one of these plain, boring people. (Laughs)”
Your mother reportedly believes all the crazy stories which, in your case, are rampant. How do you convince her that you don’t go out drinking every night, and haven’t had an affair with Paris Hilton?
“I’m sorry, what? I have never been on a date with Paris Hilton. Unfortunately, I use my mother frequently during interviews when no other fascinating anecdotes come to mind. Naturally she doesn’t believe a word of any of it.”
What do you think about the fact that the media dissect your private life and your relationships with a variety of female co-stars in order to promote the Twilight films?
“To start, let the magazines and tabloids sell themselves. Whether or not the films gain because of that, I don’t know. I, personally, definitely don’t help it. (Laughs)”
Hand on your heart: In what way has the Twilight Saga changed your life?
“If you find yourself in the eye of a storm, you’re not in a position to judge what goes on around you. Maybe I’ll be able to think it over in two or three years. At the moment I feel the whole thing is like a supernova: We shoot a film one after the other and the phenomenon grows and grows. And presently I stand in front of 20,000 screaming fans and haven’t the faintest idea who they’re calling for. I think it will still be a little while longer until I realize that they mean me.”
How do you evade the hordes of young girls scream at you and even want to be bitten by you?
“This mass hysteria can already sometimes be scary, but personally I have still never had anyone do something to me. Only once, during the shoot for ‘Little Ashes’, I had a stalker, who always waited for me at my apartment.”
Last summer you shot the film “Remember Me” in New York. Could you stay unaffected there?
“Not really. In New York it’s nearly impossible. Although it was only a really little project, thousands of people were standing around the set.”
Is there still one city where you can run around on the streets unrecognized?
“The only place where that happens now is Tokyo. I debated for a short time about moving there. (Laughs)”
Do you have plans in the future to do something against this abnormal state of affairs?
“I can’t really do anything against it, other than to pull myself completely out of the public eye, in order to lead a normal life. But I don’t know if that little anonymity is worth the cost. I mean, that the whole hype is over just as quickly as it came. Then it doesn’t bother me at all.”
In which situations does it seem different, how extraordinary your life appears?
“The only time that it’s really bizarre, is when I want to visit friends and need a bodyguard in order to do it.”
Do your friends like the spectacle?
“No, most of them don’t like the glamour and the whole shebang at all. It doesn’t influence them in any way. It doesn’t affect me either, by the way.”
At what place to you crave to be back the most, when you look back on your old life?
“I had this fantastic, old London apartment in Soho. You could climb onto the roof and it had a wonderful view of the city. Nearly every day I was up there, playing music, writing songs, and tried to include them.”
What do you have planned for next, once the last part, “Breaking Dawn,” is finished?
“It’s not very easy to choose what I want to do after that. Because ‘Twilight’ is that successful and brings in so much money, you feel as though you’re paralyzed. It exists the fear, one could lose if he takes the wrong step. In the event that the next film is a flop, everyone will say: See, he was only a one-hit-wonder. The impression is, therefore, huge.”
fem.com/translation/RPLife
