“I always wanted to look like I’ve been street cast,” Robert Pattinson, 31, said while discussing Good Time at the Cannes Film Festival on May 25, according to Variety. In another dramatic deviation from his iconic Twilight role, Robert plays an aimless bank robber, one that endures one unfortunate event after another following a botched robbery. To convey the character’s authenticity in this drama – directed by Josh, 33, and Ben Safdie, 31 – Robert went the extra mile to look like a lanky, desperate crook. In addition to growing a goatee and walking with a hunched posture, Robert hit the makeup chair.
“We experimented with a few different things,” Robert said. “You’ve got these pock marks in the skin and no one recognizes you.” He even got tattoos (albeit temporary) to complete the transformation, pushing his look as far away from Edward Cullen as possible. Wow. Robert said that they kept this metamorphosis a secret by shooting “guerrilla style” throughout Manhattan and Queens. “I was so nervous [about] people finding out about the shoot and paparazzi being there,” Robert said. “It destroys the illusion of it. What I was doing as a person was feeding into the character, trying to disappear, trying to be a ghost in the crowd. We shot the movie on the streets of New York, and no one took a cell phone picture.”
Wait — no one in New York City took a picture with their cell phone? Roberts transformation must have been that good, if no one recognized him at all. His acting is certainly getting rave reviews, as early Cannes critics have gushed over Robert’s performance, saying it’s some of his best acting ever. “I feel like the character was a conduit for a lot of different people’s energies,” he said, indicating that it’s a complete 180-degrees from his cool, low-key Cullen. “I don’t know how much of it was really me other than being really manic.”
Could this be the final stake in Edward’s association with the brooding hunk of the Twilight series? Perhaps. Along with his tendency to take roles in offbeat indie movies, he took the very Un-Cullen role in The Lost City of Z. However, while doing press for that flick, he did hint that he’d be open to returning to the Twilight franchise if they decide to reboot it. Perhaps a tattooed, goateed Edward helps Bella rob a bank? No?
Are you curious to see Robert’s performance in Good Time, HollywoodLifers?