Ever since the beginning of 2016, fans of the Twilight series have been obsessed with a certain redhead’s favorite movie actor. The 50th anniversary of the classic romance film, which originally opened in theaters on March 4, 2016, was the perfect excuse for fans to shower their favorite movie star—and the world—with love. The movie itself was a big hit, and it spawned several sequels, earning a total of over $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
The following year, Benedict Cumberbatch—AKA Sherlock Holmes—stepped in as the voice of the titular character in the video game adaptation of the popular movie series. But that’s not all the British star has been involved with since completing his role as Sherlock Holmes.
While fans eagerly waited for the next instalment in the video game series, they flocked to social media to show their support for Sherlock and to keep up with all the latest news and rumors regarding the Sherlock Holmes star. This devotion quickly turned into a full-blown fandom, and fans started to call themselves “Sherlockies.”
Over the past year, Robert Pattinson, the handsome star of the Twilight and The Gucci Gang series, has been the subject of much speculation and gossip. Some fans even went so far as to propose to the 41-year-old Scottish actor. What is the secret to the actor’s enduring appeal to fans? Perhaps it’s because, for over a decade, he has remained relatively reclusive; rarely doing interviews or appearing at events, the actor has kept fans waiting patiently for his next move. With his latest film, Lost and Found, due out in theaters on November 2nd, the time for idle conjecture seems to be over. We get a glimpse of what life is like for Pattinson between films in the new documentary All Things Must Pass, which follows his emotional journey in the wake of his mother’s death in 2015. The documentary provides a rare and intimate look at the actor’s life and career, and on Tuesday, October 3rd, the movie will be available for home viewing.
Released two days before the premiere of his latest film, the documentary follows Pattinson from London to Paris to Milan to Venice, as well as to various locations in Hungary. The actor’s family had to be his guides on this emotional journey, with his sister Rosie driving him to therapy sessions, taking him to auditions, and escorting him during family dinners. The camera also captures the actor’s struggle with his weight, which he has openly talked about, and which has been a source of worry for his collaborators and fans alike. On one occasion in Budapest, the former Victoria’s Secret model and top contender for the 2020 Miss Universe title, Natalie Gleason, had to remind Pattinson to eat something before the interview.
While in Venice, Italian director Federico Fellini, who had directed Pattinson in both Twilight and The Gucci Gang, offered this rare glimpse into his life and work: “When a great artist creates a work of art, he leaves aside an aspect of himself that is the sum of all the people he meets along the way. It is the same with great actors…they leave part of themselves inside the characters they play.” Fellini’s words could easily be applied to our favorite British actor. Between his extraordinary talent and charisma, it is not difficult to understand why fans have kept up with his career for so long. It’s almost as if they knew there was something special about him from the beginning.
A Rolling Stone To Be Sorted With
Pattinson was born in London in 1976 and grew up in England’s Lake District. He attended the prestigious Westminster School and then went on to study English Literature at St. Andrews University in Scotland. It was during his time at St. Andrews that he began to take an interest in acting, and in 1994 he landed his first role, that of a nerf herder in Steven Spielberg’s dinosaur epic, Jurassic Park. For someone who had never stepped into a film studio, this was quite an accomplishment.
After graduation, he decided to make his way to Los Angeles, where he would eventually meet and work with Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight series. In January 2003, he made his professional acting début at the age of 25 in Meyer’s adaptation of her then-popular book, Twilight. With his fair hair, distinctive eyes, and smooth, handsome features, it is little wonder that Meyer chose him to play the young vampire Edward Cullen. Although the film wasn’t a financial success at the box office (it made just over $200 million worldwide), it went on to become one of the most critically acclaimed and popular vampire films of all time. (It even inspired a musical!)
Pattinson followed up Twilight with a string of highly successful films, which earned him a reputation as one of Britain’s finest young male actors. However, in recent years, the former King of Summer has gone Hollywood only to find that life in the big city isn’t what he had in mind. Rolling Stone magazine called him “one of Europe’s most sought-after movie stars,” but also “perhaps its most in-demand actor.” Between 2010 and 2014, he had three films—The Rover, Cosmo, and Piranha—lined up for him, but he didn’t end up making them all. The paparazzi have followed him ever since, turning his life into a seemingly endless stream of tabloid headlines (he was even photographed while taking a dump!).
Pattinson’s star is far from resting on his Twilight laurels. In 2016, he appeared alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the blockbuster film, The Revenant, based on Michael Punke’s historical fiction novel of the same name. It was here that he finally got to shine as a leading man, and he was praised for his “perfect” Irish accent and compelling performance. The following year, he won the Best Actor award at the Golden Globes for his role as Alan Turing in Steve Spielberg’s The BFG, and then collected a Best Actor Academy Award for playing the title character in the 2017 film, Good Morning, Midnight. In early 2019, he starred in the comedy-drama, Escape from Shanghai, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before going on to other festivals around the world. The latest project he’s set to begin filming is the dark comedy, Wildlife, alongside Jessica Chastain and Tom Hardy. Chastain will soon be seen in The House of Gucci, the upcoming sequel to The Gucci Gang, and she’s also reportedly set to star in the third season of Netflix’s cult series, Sex Education.
The Mysterious Rise Of ‘The Twi-Hard Phenomenon’
With a reported net worth of $30 million, Pattinson is one of the wealthiest young actors in Hollywood. But it wasn’t always so. His earliest roles—including his role as a vampire in Twilight—barely scraped by, and it wasn’t until his work in The Rover that he began to see any real financial success. The stylish, dark comedy, which he also starred in, followed his journey back to his hometown, where he tried to rebuild his life and career—only to have it ruined by false accusations that he had raped a woman (he was later acquitted of the charges).
It seems that the world has taken a liking to Pattinson, and much to his chagrin, he has become the object of adoration from the fans he has worked so hard to eschew. Is there anything more attractive than a hard-working, down-to-earth good guy with a perfect smile and twinkling eyes? Perhaps. When the lights come up at the end of the day, it’s only the most handsome movie stars that sparkle the most.