It's Thursday, May 31th in Berlin, and, after having seen 'Cosmopolis'
at a media screening in the morning, I am meeting Robert Pattinson for
an interview in the afternoon.
They have put us in a dark but cozy
room on the ground floor of a fancy Berlin hotel. Robert is dressed in a
casual black T-Shirt an Jeans, seated right in front of a window and
sipping some coke. Or Diet Coke. I didn't ask. He is also chewing a
tooth pick the entire time, as he is trying to quit smoking.
Let me just say that he was kind, relaxed and very approachable. He was laughing a lot and seemed happy to be promoting the film.
Hey Rob, it's good to meet you. How are you?
Good, good, thanks.
How do you like Berlin?
(He laughs) I love it, but it's so annoying. Every time it's at the beginning or the end of the tour. Every time I feel like I am only here for one single day, so I never really get to see it.
And now they put you in a really dark room for the interviews, didn't they?
And there's people standing right outside the windows (laughs).. a bit weird.
Let's talk about Cosmopolis. In the scenes in the limo, the camera seems to always be really close to you and focused on your face. Was that difficult?
It's strange because you could remove the pieces of the limo, but it was still the same size as a normal limo. And the camera was on a crane and literally really close to my face. It would just move by remote control, like a robot. And there was no one else in the car, which was weird. You get a completely new relationship with the camera. It's like you're more and less aware of it at the same time. It's weird because there is no one actually behind the camera. It's a totally different aspect to shooting.
And how was it for you to play such a dark character after 'Twilight'?
The very first thing I shot, I wanted it to be a no statement thing, the suit, the hair, everything. It's like: Your clothes don't say anything, your car doesn't say anything. Nothing says anything. And YOU don't say anything and it's one of the scariest things I've ever done. I was turning around to Jay Baruchel in the first scene and you realize your face isn't doing anything, you have no eyes (because of the dark sunglasses). It's nerve racking.
And what do you think of the character you play?
I really like him. A lot of people see him as being kind of apathetic, which might be my fault. I mean, I did it, I wanted to humanize him. And some people really see it. Other people think it's some guy who just doesn't care about anything, but I think he really does care about a lot of things. He's just an egomaniac. Like he thinks he is the only person in the world, he wants to be God. But not in a greedy way he just thinks he is. It's just the way he was born.
What do you think Eric Packer cares about?
Erm, he's one of those people who look at the world and you know how you wake up and you want to make the world a better place? He wants to make the world a better place but only his ideas will make it a better place. He doesn't care about making it a better place for anyone else. He doesn't think anyone else even exists. That's what he cares about. Elevating people to his perceived level.
Is there anything you like about him?
Erm, I think he's pretty funny. I like the fact that when he's talking to people he's not dismissing them. He wants people to step up to his challenge. He's like: “Come on, say something, quick, be intelligent!” And everyone just constantly lets him down. It's never enough. But when someone intrigues him or confuses him it is literally this huge thing because he is so surprised that someone can say something interesting. Like in the scene with Paul Giamatti, he thinks he is literally talking to an oracle until he realizes he's just crazy. But at the beginning he is fascinated by him. He is really hungry for knowledge.
Speaking of that. The scene with Paul Giamatti was really long, with such immense amounts of dialogue. How was that?
It was fun. Paul is an amazing actor. He was the only one attached to it (the project) when I signed up for it. And then to see it in the end, it is such a long shot. It's a 22 page long scene like a mini film by itself and it could have been played anyway. But I got on really well with Paul and we had lots of fun doing it.
What was your first thought when Cronenberg called you and offered you the part? Did you see it as a chance not to be the 'Twilight' star?
I wasn't trying to break away from anything. But just to be called up by him... I mean, he is one of the most amazing directors in the world. I was stunned. And especially for a script like this, it's a hard script. And it's I'm in every scene. It's a lot of dialogue and it's very subtle. I'm really amazed.
How do you feel about all those 15 year old fans camping outside the premiere venue?Do you feel like twilight is a shadow that you just can't shake or are you just really happy that they're there supporting you?
It's amazing. If they go and see the movie - it's crazy. A lot of 'Twilight' fans are not only excited about seeing it, but if they feel they don't understand it, they WANT to understand it. A ton of people have bought Don Delillo's books and I've talked to people who are like 16 years old and they have read 'Cosmopolis' and 'Underworld' and a lot of DeLillo stuff and it is absolutely amazing. This is probably the best thing I have done since I've started acting! (To inspire fans to read Don DeLillo). And they have watched all of David's movies and even if there's a hundred people who don't understand what's happening, there will be one who really, really understands it and not being crazy or anything, but it's a life changing thing. It's an inspiring thing when you suddenly get into post-modern literature. It's crazy, to inspire someone to read DeLillo at a really young age.. I don't know what else could inspire them. I never even read any of his work before and now I have read tons of it. And meeting him as well, I think he is the greatest guy, he is amazing. He was with us on the tour up until now. I hadn't met him before. But I really like him. He is quite different to what I thought he would be. He is quite funny and really direct. And he knows a lot about movies. And I am just so amazed that there is people lining up and screaming about it. It's hilarious.
The film is about money in general. How important is money and success for you?
Success is important. Money, I guess is important but I am quite aware of the fact that it is more important once you're older. When you're young you're like 'nah, I don't even care about it' and you'll always think you'll always be able to earn money. It's not really a real thing until you don't have it. Then it's very real.
One private question: I know fans would love to know what you got Kristen for her birthday last month..
(Laughs) I never talk about personal stuff, I'm sorry.
Let me just say that he was kind, relaxed and very approachable. He was laughing a lot and seemed happy to be promoting the film.
Hey Rob, it's good to meet you. How are you?
Good, good, thanks.
How do you like Berlin?
(He laughs) I love it, but it's so annoying. Every time it's at the beginning or the end of the tour. Every time I feel like I am only here for one single day, so I never really get to see it.
And now they put you in a really dark room for the interviews, didn't they?
And there's people standing right outside the windows (laughs).. a bit weird.
Let's talk about Cosmopolis. In the scenes in the limo, the camera seems to always be really close to you and focused on your face. Was that difficult?
It's strange because you could remove the pieces of the limo, but it was still the same size as a normal limo. And the camera was on a crane and literally really close to my face. It would just move by remote control, like a robot. And there was no one else in the car, which was weird. You get a completely new relationship with the camera. It's like you're more and less aware of it at the same time. It's weird because there is no one actually behind the camera. It's a totally different aspect to shooting.
And how was it for you to play such a dark character after 'Twilight'?
The very first thing I shot, I wanted it to be a no statement thing, the suit, the hair, everything. It's like: Your clothes don't say anything, your car doesn't say anything. Nothing says anything. And YOU don't say anything and it's one of the scariest things I've ever done. I was turning around to Jay Baruchel in the first scene and you realize your face isn't doing anything, you have no eyes (because of the dark sunglasses). It's nerve racking.
And what do you think of the character you play?
I really like him. A lot of people see him as being kind of apathetic, which might be my fault. I mean, I did it, I wanted to humanize him. And some people really see it. Other people think it's some guy who just doesn't care about anything, but I think he really does care about a lot of things. He's just an egomaniac. Like he thinks he is the only person in the world, he wants to be God. But not in a greedy way he just thinks he is. It's just the way he was born.
What do you think Eric Packer cares about?
Erm, he's one of those people who look at the world and you know how you wake up and you want to make the world a better place? He wants to make the world a better place but only his ideas will make it a better place. He doesn't care about making it a better place for anyone else. He doesn't think anyone else even exists. That's what he cares about. Elevating people to his perceived level.
Is there anything you like about him?
Erm, I think he's pretty funny. I like the fact that when he's talking to people he's not dismissing them. He wants people to step up to his challenge. He's like: “Come on, say something, quick, be intelligent!” And everyone just constantly lets him down. It's never enough. But when someone intrigues him or confuses him it is literally this huge thing because he is so surprised that someone can say something interesting. Like in the scene with Paul Giamatti, he thinks he is literally talking to an oracle until he realizes he's just crazy. But at the beginning he is fascinated by him. He is really hungry for knowledge.
Speaking of that. The scene with Paul Giamatti was really long, with such immense amounts of dialogue. How was that?
It was fun. Paul is an amazing actor. He was the only one attached to it (the project) when I signed up for it. And then to see it in the end, it is such a long shot. It's a 22 page long scene like a mini film by itself and it could have been played anyway. But I got on really well with Paul and we had lots of fun doing it.
What was your first thought when Cronenberg called you and offered you the part? Did you see it as a chance not to be the 'Twilight' star?
I wasn't trying to break away from anything. But just to be called up by him... I mean, he is one of the most amazing directors in the world. I was stunned. And especially for a script like this, it's a hard script. And it's I'm in every scene. It's a lot of dialogue and it's very subtle. I'm really amazed.
How do you feel about all those 15 year old fans camping outside the premiere venue?Do you feel like twilight is a shadow that you just can't shake or are you just really happy that they're there supporting you?
It's amazing. If they go and see the movie - it's crazy. A lot of 'Twilight' fans are not only excited about seeing it, but if they feel they don't understand it, they WANT to understand it. A ton of people have bought Don Delillo's books and I've talked to people who are like 16 years old and they have read 'Cosmopolis' and 'Underworld' and a lot of DeLillo stuff and it is absolutely amazing. This is probably the best thing I have done since I've started acting! (To inspire fans to read Don DeLillo). And they have watched all of David's movies and even if there's a hundred people who don't understand what's happening, there will be one who really, really understands it and not being crazy or anything, but it's a life changing thing. It's an inspiring thing when you suddenly get into post-modern literature. It's crazy, to inspire someone to read DeLillo at a really young age.. I don't know what else could inspire them. I never even read any of his work before and now I have read tons of it. And meeting him as well, I think he is the greatest guy, he is amazing. He was with us on the tour up until now. I hadn't met him before. But I really like him. He is quite different to what I thought he would be. He is quite funny and really direct. And he knows a lot about movies. And I am just so amazed that there is people lining up and screaming about it. It's hilarious.
The film is about money in general. How important is money and success for you?
Success is important. Money, I guess is important but I am quite aware of the fact that it is more important once you're older. When you're young you're like 'nah, I don't even care about it' and you'll always think you'll always be able to earn money. It's not really a real thing until you don't have it. Then it's very real.
One private question: I know fans would love to know what you got Kristen for her birthday last month..
(Laughs) I never talk about personal stuff, I'm sorry.
And with a wink he says: “Looks like you wasted your last question.”
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