Robert Pattinson was at the epicenter of an entire generation’s obsession when he appeared in the supernatural horror romance drama Twilight back in 2008. Overnight, the vampire had become a sensation clouding every teenager’s daydreams and covering every inch of their bedroom walls. However, the fantastical rise of the actor to become one of Hollywood’s rare talents of today has been a rocky journey filled with shifting sentiments and paved with an onslaught of criticism and hate toward his breakout role in the Twilight saga.
Within half a decade of Twilight‘s release, mass opinion quickly shifted from an obsessive love for the actor to ardent hate for everything he represented. Robert Pattinson‘s role as the mysterious Edward Cullen was viewed through the lens of reality and his character was deemed a pedophile for falling in love with the 17-year-old mortal, Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart. She, on the other hand, was criticized for her stoic acting and her peculiar idiosyncrasies which quickly became food for memes. No amount of surrealistic cinematography, teenage angst, and a beautiful soundtrack could make up for the hatred that followed.
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But this was all in the aftermath of the film’s established history as a cult favorite. Although people might now classify the saga as a pet peeve, the actors associated with its production and early success worked hard to secure the role. Catherine Hardwicke, the director of the franchise, recalled the already existing fanbase of the Stephanie Meyer novels from which the movies were adapted. The 2007 announcement of the then-unknown Robert Pattinson’s casting in the lead role as Edward caused an uproar among the young fans and the crushing expectations did not favor the inexperienced actor in his early days in Hollywood.
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Director Recalls Robert Pattinson’s Reaction to Hate Mail
The Twilight franchise director, Catherine Hardwicke, had been one of the first staunch supporters of the young Brit who had just come off of the fresh success of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in which he famously played Cedric Diggory. Immediately recognizing the potential of his ethereal appearance which could greatly benefit the role he would then go on to play — something the director called “kind of wild-looking” — Hardwicke was convinced that Pattinson would be the perfect casting for Edward. But not everyone agreed and hence followed the flurry of hate mail.
“Rob came up to me one day and he goes, ‘Catherine, look at all these mean things that people are saying online. I’m hideous.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my god, Rob, you can’t read all this. You just gotta focus. I swear to god, we have a plan. You’re going to be amazing looking and everyone’s going to love you… Just do not read these things.’ And he goes, ‘But my mom sent it to me.’”
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Granted the Twilight saga did suffer from its fair share of publicity, but the franchise’s weird rise and fall (and rise again as an underground cult favorite) cannot top the bizarre experience of going online and witnessing a bunch of hate mail compiled and forwarded by your own mother.
The Twilight saga is currently available for streaming on Netflix and Peacock.
