The actor behind Edward Cullen has famously questioned the franchise’s plot lines and characters throughout the years
The world went wild for Robert Pattinson during his Twilight days, but the actor is far from obsessed with the cultural phenomenon.
Since the first installment premiered in 2008, the star behind Edward Cullen has been brutally honest about his distaste for his role and the movies’ plotlines, which were adapted from novels by Stephanie Meyer. During press junkets, interviews and talk show appearances, Pattinson has called the vampire flicks “strange,” “weird” and questioned if they made sense at all. He’s even compared his brooding, bloodsucking character to “an axe murderer.”
As years have passed, Pattinson — who is expecting his first baby with his girlfriend Suki Waterhouse — has lightened up on his Twilight role, but his most hilariously candid thoughts remain unforgettable. Take a look back at every time Pattinson spoke out about the franchise that defined his early career.
‘A Weird Story’
Pattinson spoke skeptically about Twilight’s plotline during a 2019 discussion with Jennifer Lopez for Variety’s Actors on Actors series. The British star called it ‘a weird story” and said he found it “strange how people responded.”
“Even when I was promoting it, I was pretty open about how strange I thought it was when I was doing it,” Pattinson recalled of the films, which he starred in alongside Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner.
Not Romantic Like ‘The Notebook’
During his chat with Lopez, Pattinson went on to compare Bella and Edward’s love story to another on-screen romance released four years earlier.
“They are very romantic, but at the same time, it’s not like The Notebook romantic. The Notebook is very, very sweet and heartbreaking and stuff,” Pattinson said. “Twilight is about this guy who finds the one girl he wants to be with, and also wants to eat her. Well not eat her, drink her blood, whatever.”
He Would ‘Mindlessly Hate’ the Films if He Wasn’t the Star
All three of the franchise leads got together for a round of questions fielded by Moviefone, and Pattinson particularly stood out amongst his castmates. When asked whether or not they would be fans of Twilight had they not starred in the films, both Stewart and Lautner confirmed their appreciation for the series.
Pattinson, on the other hand, wasn’t shy about being a hater.
“The people who don’t like it are generally people who haven’t seen it, and they’re like all judgmental and stuff, and cynical people,” he began, continuing on with a laugh, “But I think I am a judgemental and cynical person who would just mindlessly hate it without ever having seen anything.”
The ‘Only Thing’ That Got Him to Smile
In a sit down GQ going through some of his “most iconic” roles, Pattinson opened up about the vibe on set of the first film and his desire to make it as “arty as possible” despite the studio’s opposing views.
His behavior, he recalls, sprung a visit from his team who sat him down and told him it was time to change his attitude.
“‘Okay, so whatever you’re doing right now, after lunch just do the opposite, or you’ll be fired by the end of the day,'” Pattinson remembers his manager and agent advising. He previously admitted that looking back he “can’t believe the way I was acting,”
“And I was like, ‘Okay,'” he remembers agreeing to his team. “And so that was the only thing that got me to sort of smile a little bit.”
‘Weirdos Like Edward’
While promoting the franchise’s second film, New Moon, Pattinson expressed his confusion over fan’s attraction to his character.
“With virtually anyone, the nice guys always seem to come last. You always get weirdos like Edward who seem to attract women for some reason,” he toldOK! magazine in the U.K. per MTV.
He then went on to say, “If Edward wasn’t a fictional character and you met him in reality he is like one of those guys who would probably be an axe murderer or something.”
The ‘Most Ridiculous’ Character
In another instance, Pattinson further broke down his confusion over fans’ fascination with his character and shared his take on why he played the part how he did.
“When you read the book, it’s like, ‘Edward Cullen was so beautiful I creamed myself.’ I mean, every line is like that,” he once told Empire. “He’s the most ridiculous person who’s so amazing at everything. I think a lot of actors tried to play that aspect. I just couldn’t do that. And the more I read the script, the more I hated this guy, so that’s how I played him, as a manic-depressive who hates himself. Plus, he’s a 108 year-old virgin, so he’s obviously got some issues there.”
