Robert Pattinson is one of Hollywood’s most sought after thespians. His dark sensibility, chiseled good looks, and real acting chops help to make him an incredibly interesting on screen presence. While he’s set to star in one of the biggest films of 2022 in Matt Reeves’ The Batman in a couple of months, roles like that of "Bruce Wayne" weren’t always cast with Pattinson in mind. In fact, it wasn’t so long ago that Pattinson was being dismissed as yet another heartthrob with no real future in the business.
Following the success of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and the Twilight series, Pattinson was viewed as a teen film sensation and little else. While some may have had an inkling of what he was capable of, it was popular to dismiss the man… up until a certain point. Pattinson now has a slew of great films under his belt, and here are the ones that helped him gain enough recognition to wear that iconic cowl.
A Standout Entry in a Huge Franchise
Often considered his first film, most of his scenes were cut from his debut in 2003’s Vanity Fair, 2004's Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire was a resounding success. Grossing nearly $900 million on a $150 million budget, the fourth film in the Wizarding World franchise served to solidify the series as one of the most popular, and bankable, of all time. While Pattinson only played a small character, his role served as an important turning point for the series. Described as disarmingly handsome in J.K. Rowling's fourth book, Pattinson’s character of Cedric Diggory is a popular Quidditch player in the house of Hufflepuff in this film adaptation of Goblet of Fire.
While not quite an enemy of Harry Potter, the character’s true intentions aren’t discovered until the end of the film. When he’s revealed as a genuinely good person who only wants the best for Potter, it’s almost too late. Timothy Spall’s villainous Peter Pettigrew casts a spell on Diggory that kills him instantly, and in one of the most devastating scenes in the film series’ history, Diggory’s father wails and mourns over the child’s body. As previously stated, Pattinson's Cedric Diggory isn’t one of the main characters in Goblet, but he is the one that lets the audience know that no one is safe from Voldemort’s reign. Pattinson plays the role with a breezy confidence, and his presence is missed as soon as his life is stripped from his body. His presence and death help to set up the rest of the Harry Potter films as a lot less childish and kid-friendly than previously thought.
A Dark and Strange Drama
One of the most interesting filmmakers around, David Cronenberg has produced such classics as Scanners, Dead Ringers, and A History of Violence. With Maps to the Stars, his second collaboration with Pattinson after 2012’s Cosmopolis, Cronenberg is in perfectly strange territory. Maps to the Stars, which follows several people’s lives in a desolately glib 2014 Hollywood landscape, is not an easy hang. It’s dark, uncomfortable, and ends on a superbly downer note.
Pattinson shines here as limo driver and wannabe actor and screenwriter Jerome Fontana. Joining an esteemed cast that includes Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, and John Cusack, Pattinson is in great company. As he tries to climb his way up Tinseltown’s social ladder, he quickly discovers that things aren’t as glamorous as they may seem in the legendary hills of Los Angeles. Maps to the Stars provides Pattinson with a plum role, and he knocks it out of the park. This film would be one of the first of many that shows both Pattinson’s dedication to shady characters and his pension for roles that many actors of his age would steer clear of.
A Sweaty Adventure
James Grey’s 2016 masterpiece The Lost City of Z follows real-life explorer Percy Fawcett in this true story about Fawcett’s attempts to find an ancient lost city in the Amazon jungles. Sort of a gritty and realistic Indiana Jones, The Lost City of Z is a spellbinding trip through the woods that features themes of obsession, human will, and the never-ending lure of mystery.
While Charlie Hunnam is front and center as Fawcett, Pattinson plays a heck of a supporting role as his right-hand man Corporal Henry Costin. The film also gives fantastic parts to actors like Sienna Miller and Tom Holland, but Pattinson's role is as integral as Hunnam's Fawcett. While Costin could’ve been an insignificant character if played by an actor unsuitable for its significant definition, Pattinson ensures that he is one of the brighter spots in the white-hot film.
Seen by Fawcett at the beginning of a film as an alcoholic that will mostly provide more harm than good, Costin eventually proves himself worthy by staying with Fawcett through the thick and thin. Pattinson dove into the role, and seeing as the film actually shot in dangerous jungles across the world, the actor’s physical discipline is immediately apparent. The Lost City of Z proves that Pattinson would give his all to a role, and that has apparently done a lot to secure him similarly difficult roles in the future.
A Life of Crime
Josh and Benny Safdie’s recent film Uncut Gems shocked the world and almost lead to an Oscar nomination from controversial star Adam Sandler. In that film, the comedic actor was able to shed all preconceived notions and turn in a performance that changed many audience member’s minds on Sandler’s ability to perform in dramatic roles. Just a few years earlier, the Safdie Brother’s film Good Time gave a similar opportunity to Robert Pattinson. In a role that simultaneously allows for sympathy and harsh judgement, Good Time was the first time that audiences were meant to love and hate one of Pattinson’s characters in equal measure.
As criminal Constantine ‘Connie’ Nikas, a man on the run after stealing $65,000 from a bank, Pattinson exudes desperation and a pension for lying for his own gain. While attempting to free his brother from a hospital after his arrest for the bank theft and subsequent jail beating, Connie tries everything he can to make sure that he and his brother get out on top. A relentless mood piece, Good Time allows for Pattinson to be equal parts charming and despicable. It’s one of the best performances of the 2010s, and the role allows for audiences to see shades of how Pattinson might play Batman in the upcoming film.
A Descent Into Darkness
The relentlessly grim crime noire The Devil All the Time premiered on Netflix in 2020. While criticized for its oppressively dour tone and lack of sympathetic characterizations, the film was praised for its performances. Tom Holland, Sebastian Stan, Mia Wasikowska, Harry Melling, Haley Bennett, Bill Skarsgård, and Pattinson all turn in spectacular performances. As Preston Teagarden, nefarious but charismatic Preacher and eventual rival to Tom Holland’s Arvin Russell, Pattinson is in full villain mode here.
Seeping with untrustworthiness and taking actions that make him absolutely irredeemable by the character’s end, Robert Pattinson is spellbinding in The Devil All the Time. Out of shape and sporting a southern drawl, the actor is able to disappear in the character and nearly steal each scene he is in. While virtually everything that Teagarden does and says is reprehensible, the character is a joy to watch onscreen because of Pattinson’s performance. The violent, depressing, and effective film The Devil All the Time would be unbearable if not for its fantastic performances, and Pattinson’s ranks near the top of them.