‘Fearless’ … Robert Pattinson at the world premiere of The Odyssey in London on 6 July. Photograph: Eamonn M McCormack/Getty Images View image in fullscreen ‘Fearless’ … Robert Pattinson at the world premiere of The Odyssey in London on 6 July. Photograph: Eamonn M McCormack/Getty Images Robert Pattinson Profile ‘He stole the show’: do Oscars beckon for Robert Pattinson, star of four of the year’s biggest films – and Batman? With a standout role in The Odyssey, the Twilight idol turned leading man for arthouse auteurs has become one of the most charismatic and unpredictable actors of his generation
Prefer the Guardian on Google Today, former teen idols can no longer disown those projects, no matter how tacky, that turned them into stars. In an age in which even harrowing dramas are promoted by social media reels of actors competitively guzzling chicken wings or cuddling puppies , any mention of a cheesy breakout role must be gamely embraced , before thanks are again offered to the fans, and for the opportunity.
What A-listers angling for awards do not do, however, is actively raise such skeletons. Leonardo DiCaprio did not secure his Oscar for The Revenant through allusions to his late-80s sitcom Growing Pains . Likewise, Joaquin Phoenix rarely brings up SpaceCamp, and Jacob Elordi keeps pretty tight-lipped on The Kissing Booth 3 .
Not so Robert Pattinson. The British actor, 40, is now being spoken of as the clear standout in Christopher Nolan’s version of The Odyssey . As well as being the starriest production mounted in some years, the $250m blockbuster is easily the year’s most highly anticipated film and, so far, the 2027 best picture Oscar winner to beat.
View image in fullscreen ‘Endlessly entertaining’ … Pattinson as Antinous in The Odyssey. Photograph: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures/AP Pattinson’s performance as Antinous, villainous suitor to Penelope (Anne Hathaway) in the absence of her husband, Odysseus (Matt Damon), was lavished with praise by critics sharing first thoughts before the film’s review embargo is lifted next Wednesday. “He absolutely stole the show for me,” wrote US critic Erik Davis, calling him “so conniving, manipulative and endlessly entertaining to watch”. Supporting actor Oscar chatter is rife, the consensus being that this is the latest slam dunk in a career marked by curveball choices and artistic daring from a man who has long broken free of his pin-up roots.
And yet, on the red carpet at the film’s world premiere on Monday, Pattinson went out of his way to liken Homer’s 3,000-year-old epic poem – and its very weighty movie version – to the Twilight Saga, the series about horny teen vampires in which he starred almost 20 years ago.
“I keep comparing it,” he said. “[Antinous] is kind of like Jacob in Twilight. What The Odyssey is about – Penelope just can’t make her mind up between the two guys. And I’m just trying to, like, help her make a decision. It’s like, ‘It’s fine. He’s dead, get over it.’”
In the four Twilight movies, Pattinson played Edward Cullen: pale, undead and locked in a love triangle with emo schoolgirl Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and hunky werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Born in Barnes in 1986, Pattinson was cast in the role in 2007 – despite having no training and little experience – after producers requested a list of Harry Potter actors who scored highly on the IMDb’s “starmeter”, an accolade he’d earned with his turn as doomed Quidditch dish Cedric Diggory in H...