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In 2009, Robert Pattinson was at the height of his fame, captivating audiences worldwide with his portrayal of Edward Cullen in the 2008 blockbuster “Twilight,” a supernatural romance that enthralled young adults. With his newfound celebrity status came a swarm of devoted fans, some of whom were intensely passionate. During an interview with the now-defunct Créme Magazine, which was later reported by England’s Press Association and covered by Today, Pattinson shared a particularly unusual encounter with one such fan.
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Pattinson recounted, “While filming a movie in Spain last year, I had a stalker who waited outside my apartment every single day for weeks. I was so bored and lonely that I decided to go out and have dinner with her.” While this might have been a dream come true for the fan, Pattinson had a unique strategy to dissuade her further interest. He explained, “I just complained about everything in my life, and she never came back. People get bored of me in, like, two minutes.”
It is worth mentioning that Pattinson’s personal life has since taken a happier turn. He has been in a relationship with actress and musician Suki Waterhouse since 2018, with the couple confirming their engagement in 2023 and welcoming a daughter in the spring of 2024. Clearly, not everyone tires of him in mere minutes. Nevertheless, Pattinson’s approach to dealing with an overzealous fan was both humorous and unconventional, especially given the fervor surrounding “Twilight” at the time.
Before his “Twilight” fame, Robert Pattinson was recognized for his role as Cedric Diggory, a Hufflepuff and Hogwarts champion, in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” However, his character’s untimely demise meant he did not return for subsequent films in the series. “Twilight” catapulted Pattinson into the spotlight as the enigmatic Edward Cullen, a role crafted to make hearts swoon, much like Bella Swan’s, portrayed by Kristen Stewart.
Throughout the “Twilight Saga,” which spans four films with the final book “Breaking Dawn” split into two parts, Pattinson’s Edward is a century-old vampire who remains eternally 17. Despite his initial reservations, Edward falls deeply in love with Bella, introducing her to his vampire family who must suppress their instincts to harm her. After a turbulent romance, including a brief separation in “New Moon,” the couple marries and conceives a half-vampire, half-human child, nearly resulting in Bella’s death during childbirth. The “Twilight” films, while a mixed cinematic experience, are undeniably entertaining in their own campy way. Yet, it’s what Pattinson pursued post-“Twilight” that truly captivates.
The Twilight boom made Robert Pattinson into a global superstar
Summit Entertainment
Before “Twilight,” Robert Pattinson was best known for playing the short-lived role of Hufflepuff and Hogwarts champion Cedric Diggory in the fourth “Harry Potter” movie, subtitled “Goblet of Fire” — but because Cedric’s death literally serves as the climax to this particular installment, he was never destined to appear in any “Potter” movies beyond that. After “Twilight,” Pattinson was thrust firmly into the spotlight thanks to the fact that his role in that franchise, Edward Cullen, is designed to be a swoonworthy romantic male lead for whom girls around the world would pine, just like his love interest Bella Swan (played on-screen by Kristen Stewart).
Across four movies — like “Harry Potter,” the “Twilight Saga” split its final book into two parts and gave “Breaking Dawn” two drawn-out films — Pattinson plays Edward, a brooding vampire who’s well over a century old by the time he meets actual teenager Bella (while Edward is extremely old, he stopped aging at 17 years old, so he’s basically an eternal teenager). Despite Edward’s hesitance, he and Bella fall in love and become a couple — and he introduces her to his all-vampire family, who must control themselves so as not to, you know, kill her — and despite a brief split in the second installment “New Moon,” they eventually get married and immediately spawn a half-vampire, half-human baby that almost kills Bella during childbirth. (Tale as old as time, right?) The “Twilight” movies are a mixed bag, albeit campy and fun … and both Stewart and Pattinson are serviceable in them. It’s what Pattinson did next that’s really exciting.
After Twilight, Robert Pattinson branched out and picked weird, fascinating, and largely successful projects
Warner Bros.
Frankly, it’s astounding and impressive that Robert Pattinson, who went right from a “Harry Potter” movie into a soapy young adult franchise, became one of Hollywood’s most audacious, ambitious, and in-demand actors. (So, for that matter, did Kristen Stewart. Good for both of them!) After branching out with offbeat director David Cronenberg for the 2014 film “Maps to the Stars,” Pattinson went on to work with auteurs like the Safdie brothers (on 2017’s “Good Time”) and Robert Eggers (on 2019’s “The Lighthouse,” where he appears alongside Willem Dafoe in a two-hander). His biggest post-“Twilight” projects, though, are 2020’s time-bending action thriller “Tenet” — directed by Christopher Nolan — and Pattinson’s titular role in Matt Reeves’ 2022 reboot “The Batman,” where the former teen vampire takes up the mantle of Gotham’s Caped Crusader.
Still, Pattinson’s most interesting roles remain his strangest ones, like his absolutely bravura vocal performance in the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki’s stunningly personal film “The Boy and the Heron” (which released in 2024), his turn as a sinister Southern preacher in “The Devil All the Time” (in 2020), and his literally layered performance as multiples of himself in Bong Joon-ho’s 2025 “Parasite” follow-up “Mickey 17.” Pattinson isn’t exactly a teen heartthrob anymore, but his strangest performative impulses — like going on a date with a fan only to bore her — are still going strong, and we’re all luckier for it.
