LOS ANGELES, California—This is the hot young actor that girls are screaming their tonsils out for?Some reporters couldn’t reconcile Robert Pattinson who looked like he just got out of bed, his hair a thick mess, with the buzz—screaming hysteria, to be more specific—proclaiming him as Hollywood’s new “It Guy.” But when we first interviewed him on the set of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” in the UK several years ago, we knew it was only a matter of time before Robert graduated from small roles like Cedric Diggory to a star-launching gig like “Twilight.” Tall, blessed with patrician good looks, Robert stood out among the “Harry Potter” cast.
Kristen Stewart offered the most astute observation about her “Twilight” co-star: “Rob is very organic. He’s in the moment and he lets it happen which is brave ... He’s a courageous actor.”
As predicted, “Twilight,” where Robert and Kristen play Edward and Bella, respectively in the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s hit novel of the same name, topped the box-office last weekend. The movie about a high school girl who falls in love with a vampire grossed over $70 million.
Below are excerpts of our separate interviews with Robert and Kristen.
ROBERT PATTINSON
How would you describe your life now?
I’ve been involved in “Twilight” all year now. I’ve been doing press for several weeks so I haven’t really had time to reflect on what my life actually is. It would be very strange being locked in a thing where I go into lots of different rooms and lots of little girls scream at me all the time (laughter). I would probably get old after a while. I think 32 is going to be my year. That’s the year I’ve always been looking forward to. I don’t know why (laughter).
How old are you now?
Twenty-two.
This movie is about obsessive love. Have you ever experienced it?
Yeah, sort of. I remember there was a girl I was totally obsessed with for about 10 years.
Ten years is a long time.
Yeah, but it’s like I never ever spoke to her. I think that’s the best type of love (laughter). I remember when reading my diaries from the time—whenever anything else would mess up with a girl, I’d be like, she’d better be worth it. When it happens, you can always have this kind of hope and then when I finally told her she was like, “You’ve never spoken to me in my whole life. You’ve only spoken to me about three times and never said anything nice (laughter).”
Are you still in a band?
I was in a band years ago. Not like a proper band but I had kind of roll-on, roll-off musicians. I still try and play but it’s weird now since when I’m trying to do it as an actor, it always seems kind of cheesy. I liked playing at open mikes in bars and stuff because it was the only time I really felt free. I did a couple of gigs in LA and people filmed and put them on the Internet. It just ruins the whole experience. You’re like “Oh, that wasn’t the point.” So I stopped. I’m going to wait for all this to die down before I start doing live gigs again.
What is your home life like?
In LA, it basically consists of waiting for my phone to ring (laughter), reading scripts and that’s about it (laughter). In London, I could replace scripts for books and I just watch a lot of movies. I have very few hobbies (laughter).
Can you tell us more about your family background?
My dad is from Yorkshire and he did a bunch of things. In the ’70s, he moved to America for a bit and just worked as a taxi driver. Then he started selling cars in the ’80s. My mom worked as a booker at a modeling agency and now they’re both retired. My mom, sisters and I speak really well. My parents were just very aware of how you’re treated differently in the world if you speak articulately. So it was just the way I was brought up.
Do you believe in having a soul mate?
I hope there is such a thing. I guess it would be quite scary to find a soul mate when you’re young because you’re probably going to mess it up (laughter).
How have you embraced the thought that you’re a sex symbol now?
It’s strange because I’m a sex symbol to 14-year-old girls (laughter) which I guess is not the most helpful situation to be in. But yeah, I’ve never really thought of it. It’s just so funny. I mean, just last year I couldn’t even get a date (laughter) and then this year, the world turns and it’s so bizarre (laughter) that everybody just changes their mind at the same time (laughter).
You couldn’t get a date?
When I was in London, it was like, not at all. I don’t know why. That’s all I talked about the whole of last year—that I need to get a girlfriend. I need to get a girlfriend and then this year, I could have any 12-year-old I wanted (laughter).
What do you look for in a girl?
I’m always shocked by the people who I’m attracted to. It’s always completely random. I generally like people who are a bit crazy but yeah, that’s pretty much my only prerequisite.
You get to run up a tree, among other special things. How did you achieve some of these effects?
I can’t even walk in a straight line so it was very tough doing all that type of stuff. It was designed like in a kung fu movie in a lot of sequences. That was tough—virtually anything to do on a harness because you have to exert so much effort just maintaining your center of gravity. It’s tougher especially when you have to make it look effortless and not breath as well (laughter). That was probably the hardest thing I had to do in the movie.
How long did you rehearse for stunts that required wire work?
Not a huge amount of time. About two weeks, I guess, and I had to do a ton of it as well.
What kind of music do you listen to?
I don’t know much about contemporary music. I do have an iPod but I listen to a lot of old blues. I listen to John Lee Hooker and Elmore James. I have been listening to them for years. I was obsessed with Van Morrison for years. I went to see him recently where he performed “Astral Weeks.” I just spent the entire night crying (laughter) but I was really obsessed with Van Morrison.
Were you a rebellious teenager?
I really wasn’t very much of a rebel. I’m seen by people now as more of a rebel which is strange. I don’t like doing what people tell me to do. I don’t deliberately rebel against them.
How did you evoke sexiness in this role?
A lot of it has to do with not speaking—like that always makes somebody more attractive. I wasn’t really trying to play Edward as a sexy guy, though. He’s not very sexy in the book. It’s like he’s just kind of mysterious and his whole personality works from a template. So it creates more mystery and whatever he says seems very contrived. He always has a completely opposite thought to what he’s saying in his head. He’s always hiding things. A lot of the attraction to someone is always frustration and that’s what a lot of the story is.
What concerns you most about this sudden fame?
When something or someone is hyped and you’re put on the forefront of a lot of things, people want to tear you down. That’s kind of scary, especially when you’re not really putting yourself out there.
KRISTEN STEWART
Have you had crushes that became obsessions?
I feel like most crushes are fairly obsessive—for me at least. I have experienced them.
At what age?
Oh my God, I started having some crushes on people when I was five, I think (laughter).
Your character kind of takes care of her mom. How is your own relationship with your mother?
My mom is a momma bear. She’s the caretaker but in a sort of nonmaternal way. I have a lot of brothers who aren’t my biological brothers. We take in strays but I’m friends with my mom. The one thing that Bella is not getting from her mom is that her mother is not being a mom. She’s just a buddy and you don’t need a friend in a mom always. I mean, that could be a good part of it but you need more than that and I have both parts in my mom.
Tell us more about your mother taking in strays. That sounds exciting.
She’s just taking in friends that I’ve acquired who just don’t have it easy in their own homes. That’s really great. I just did a movie called “Welcome to the Rileys” where I play a homeless kid. She’s squatting in a house at the time that you see her in the movie. She’s essentially homeless and it’s this entire counterculture that I was completely unaware of—runaways and people, kids particularly, who live on the streets.
So your mother rehabilitates them and they go back…
No, these are my brothers. We keep them. These are my best friends (laughter). Yeah, we keep them.
What did Robert bring to the table? How did you arrive at that chemistry between the two of you?
Rob came into the audition looking sort of terrified, like a subdued fear and pained. The pain was just very evident in him. I am not saying it’s in Rob but he knew what to bring to that character. We didn’t need the statuesque, model-types who come in and just pose. I couldn’t see any of the other guys. They weren’t even looking at me. It was like they were focusing on their lines but Rob is very organic. He’s in the moment and he lets it happen which is brave. He’s brave. He’s a courageous actor.
How much training did you have to undergo for the stunts which required wire work?
I didn’t have much training. I was trained to hold onto Rob (laughter). It was like I didn’t really have to do much else. I was always trying to make it easier for him because he’s always found it very difficult. I was always trying to find points to take the pressure off of him.
We had to climb a tree once on a wire in the ballet studio at the end of the movie. It’s a pretty rigorous fight scene and there were a couple of times where he goes to pick me up. The first time he pulled his groin so they put me on a wire and we had to go up to the balcony. Then James (played by Cam Gigandet) pulls him down and I smack the floor and roll to a mark. Hitting the mark was really difficult and there was glass all over the floor. It was fake glass but it can cut you. I enjoy stuff like that. I really like physicality. I really think it’s fun.
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