Robert Pattinson may be surpassing Kristen Stewart as the bigger star

HollywoodNews.com: In 2009 “hot lists” naming the most successful stars in Hollywood, Kristen Stewart often bested Robert Pattinson in star appeal and pay. With new numbers coming out about the box office success of “Remember Me” and a look at upcoming film projects by each actor, it may be the case that, when it comes to star power, Rob is gaining a lead.

As the star of the Twilight films (Bella is, after all, the main character), Kristen has earned slightly more for her role than did Rob for his portrayal of Edward. She also boasts a much longer career, which found her in her earliest recorded film role at the age of 10. By the time she was cast for “Twilight”, she had already played supporting roles alongside mega-stars including Dennis Quaid, Jodie Foster, and Glenn Close. Yet, Twilight Saga films aside, her most recent and rumored projects are for films with niche followings—films that aren’t making back their budgets at the box office.

Robert Pattinson’s strategy has been different. Despite his later start as a screen actor (which dates back approximately to 2004), Pattinson has leaned toward larger roles for each film in which he plays and working with bigger-name stars (Bel Ami alone finds him in the star role, working alongside Kristen Scott Thomas, Uma Thurman, and Christina Ricci). It also doesn’t hurt that the majority of his film projects have come forth since he earned stardom through “Twilight” fame. After his explosive popularity as Edward, he has enormous leverage to choose his roles, and can command a higher salary.

It will be interesting to see how each actor manages his career—after a big hit like “Twilight”, typical Hollywood wisdom would advise both Rob and Kristen to climb aboard the gravy train, taking the biggest roles they can for as long as they remain in favor. Right now, it seems like Rob is doing just that, whereas Kristen may be choosing some indies. Where each of them will be in 5 years has yet to be seen.

In the meantime, I’ll be keeping an eye out on IMDB. For the moment, Kristen remains in the lead with a Star Ranking of 8. Rob is hot on her heels with a Star Ranking of 9.

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