Robert Pattinson’s latest role might not be what you’d expect from the Hollywood heartthrob. The actor portrays an FBI agent investigating suspicious activity following the 9/11 attacks.
Pattinson plays a key role in the upcoming movie, Family Guy Season 10, which premieres on September 28th on Fox.
The actor opens up about his upcoming movie role in the September 2017 issue of Vogue magazine, revealing details about the physical and mental preparation for the role.
The Role
The role of Brian was a dream come true. He is a character that I have been wanting to play for a long time. It was very different from anything I’ve ever done. It was a challenge, but a challenge I gladly accepted.
The episode opens with Brian in bed with his wife, Lois. They are discussing a potential date with the Petersons (voiced by Seth McFarlane and Eric Stonestreet), when their friendly neighbor, Peter Griffin, stops by. Peter asks if Lois has a date planned, and she says no. Peter then asks if they need any help, and Lois says yes, they do. She explains she needs someone to watch their children while they go on a date, and offers to watch the kids if Peter can tag along.
Peter readily agrees, and they all head to the mall, where they meet Stewie, Rupert, and Lenny. Brian gets out of his car and introduces himself to the neighbors. He shakes hands with them, but then notices something is wrong, and they are not wearing green gloves.
The next scene shows us that Brian has a serious talk with Lois. He explains that if she doesn’t want her family to know about their dates, then he won’t either. Brian is under the impression that the glove thing is a custom, and he doesn’t want to ruin his reputation as a “good guy.” Lois assures Brian that the gloves are simply a coincidence, and she doesn’t care if everyone knows about their dates. She then gives Brian a warm hug, and the episode ends.
The Research
It was during the late stages of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that I started to do my research for Brian. I went back and watched all the episodes of The New York Times, looking for clues. I watched as many documentaries as I could about the 9/11 attacks, which allowed me to physically prepare for the role. I needed to get into character, so I did a lot of yoga. I meditated a lot, so that I could better understand what Brian was feeling. It was a very powerful experience, and it helped me connect with the character, which in turn helped me inhabit the role. I’m very proud of the work that I did on Dawn of Justice, and it was an honor to be a part of such an iconic movie. It was a bit surreal, walking down the street and seeing paparazzi taking pictures of me, when they don’t even know that I’m in the movie.
For Family Guy, I needed to physically transform myself. I gained a massive amount of weight to play the part, and I had to drop a lot of the acting techniques that I normally use. I learned a lot about myself during the process, and I feel that I grew as a person. It was challenging, but also very rewarding. The transformation was very gratifying, and I hope that the fans will enjoy my work as much as I enjoyed doing it.
The Mental Preparation
Before I started acting, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I knew that it would change my life, but I didn’t know how much. It’s a common story amongst many actors. Once you start getting recognition, you realize that all the preparation that you did for years paid off. It wasn’t until then that I started to feel that this was more than a job, but a calling. A career. It was a huge transformation, and it happened pretty quickly. I went from having an unknown talent to being offered large sums of money to do interesting projects. It was a dream come true, and it all started with a role on Lost.
For my first major role, Lost was groundbreaking. It was the first time that I got to play an addict, and it was a completely different way of acting than I was used to. It wasn’t pretty, but it certainly made an impression.
The following year, I had a role on The Sopranos. I played an intern for Tony Soprano, and the work was extremely demanding. I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out, as I had never acted before, but Tony turned out to be one of the most influential people in my life. After that, I started getting more and more big roles. It was definitely a dream come true. Before long, I was getting recognized on the street. I would wave to fans and have them come up to me and talk about the role. It was an incredible feeling.
The Takeaway
My advice to aspiring actors is to always choose your battles wisely. You never know when you’re going to run into an obstacle in your career, but if you want to stay successful, you need to prepare for it. With that being said, I don’t think that any actor, no matter how big or small their role, should ever feel like their work is being criticized, as it should always be seen as a celebration of art. Ultimately, your aim is to entertain, and whatever criticism that you face, you should always be grateful, as that is what brought you to this point.