The actor and musician is best known for his role in the Twilight franchise, featuring in four of its five installments, the most recent of which, Twilight Saga: Eclipse, was released in theaters this year. The 28-year-old British talent has also featured in Guy Ritchie’s live-action Aladdin, which was released in 2019, as well as the upcoming fantasy epic, The Fionn (based on the novel, The Dark is Rising by Brian Froud).
The Making Of Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is the first of the franchise’s five installments and it is the follow-up to 2012’s Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. The first of the series, Twilight, was released in theaters in 2011 and went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time, with a worldwide total of $744 million.
When it comes to the making of the film, Robert Pattinson shared some interesting tidbits with Vanity Fair in 2015. For one, Edward Cullen hadn’t originally been cast as a gay man. The actor originally auditioned for the role of Jacob Black, which was later played by Taylor Lautner. Edward, as we know him, was originally intended to be a love interest for Bella (Kristen Stewart), though this didn’t exactly happen. According to Pattinson, “in the initial conception of the story, Edward was supposed to be the antagonist. He was a control freak and had an affair with Bella because he wanted to possess her. He turned out to be one of the heroes of the story because he saved her life. But it wasn’t until halfway through the movie that the character was revealed to be gay.”
Then, there was the rather candid admission that Pattinson had to do nude scenes for the first time in his career. The actor revealed that director Bill Condon felt it would be more realistic for the character if he weren’t wearing any clothes. As an aside, it should be noted that director Bill Condon has a history of using sex scenes to great effect in his movies. He directed the first three Twilight films, as well as the 2017 remake of Goldfinger, which featured an all-nude party where viewers are forced to watch the ‘fab four’ as they strip down to their underwear.
A Change Of Pace
It’s been four years since Robert Pattinson starred in Twilight and the actor has since taken on a more diverse array of roles. He recently starred in the Guy Ritchie-directed Aladdin, based on the 1991 cartoon of the same name. In the film, Aladdin (Pattinson) is a street rat turned palace servant who must rescue the beautiful princess, Jasmine (Olivia Colman). The actor admitted that he actually turned down the role of Aladdin. “I read the script and it was like, ‘Nope, I’m not doing that,’” he told Yahoo in 2019. “Then, when they asked if I’d reconsider doing a cartoon, I was like, ‘Fuck yeah, I’ll do that.’ When you’re a kid, you watch your favorite cartoons and you dream about being in them, so it was a no brainer.”
The actor also admitted that he had to change his game entirely following the massive success of Twilight. “I kind of grew up super-quick,” he told Yahoo. “That was the first time I really felt like an adult in the industry. I was 28 years old and I was working with some of the biggest creators in Hollywood. It was amazing to see what they could do with Photoshop.”
The Challenges Of Disney
A big difference between Aladdin and Twilight is that the latter is a Disney franchise and therefore, much more restricted in terms of what he can do. According to Pattinson, he had to get used to working within the constraints of a major corporation. “It was amazing to work with Disney, because most kids probably have a lot of Disney nostalgia,” he said. “It was funny, because when you read the script, it was really adult themed. I had to tone down the language a little bit, because the characters are a bit older now. But they still have that child-like charm and I think that was what kept it interesting for the audiences.”
The actor also hinted that there could be more Aladdin films on the horizon. “We’re still talking about doing more,” he said. “There’s been so much interest from people. I think the charm of the story is that it’s relatable for so many different generations.”
Aladdin is the first live-action Disney movie to be released in over a decade. The last one to be released was Treasure Planet in 2002 and it was followed by The Haunted Mansion in 2005. Before that, there was 1999’s Toy Story 2, which Disney didn’t count among their official movie count for a reason. That’s because it was the first movie to ever be released by the studio, which became a thing relatively recently. Prior to Toy Story 2, Disney released such classics as 101 Dalmatians in 1996 and The Lion King in 1994.
While the timing of Aladdin’s release may seem odd, given that it was originally meant to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this is actually part of an effort to give Disney fans something new to watch. The studio wants to make sure that there is always something new to add to their ever-expanding catalog and that is especially important now, given that they only have one other live-action franchise, Fox Searchlight’s The Commuter, in theaters now. Plus, Aladdin is far more adult-oriented and less family friendly than the other live-action Disney releases. It also helps that the film is more action-packed than your average Disney movie and there are several instances where Aladdin battles the forces of evil, including a giant snake and a magic carpet.
Robert Pattinson’s Love Life
Now, let’s switch gears and talk about the actor’s love life. At the end of 2018, Robert Pattinson confirmed that he is engaged to longtime flame, Mia Wasich. The couple, who have been dating since 2017, started off as friends and then escalated to an exclusive relationship. The romance was later made public and has been covered by several media outlets, including Vanity Fair, which broke the news in 2018. The two have also kept busy since then, with Pattinson promoting his upcoming book, Burnt, and filming the third season of his web series, The London Season.
The news was initially met with a mixture of excitement and trepidation from Wasich’s side of the story. “I was over the moon when I found out that he liked me,” Wasich told Vanity Fair in 2018. “But then again, I was a little worried, because I thought, what if this is just a fling? You know, what if he doesn’t feel the same way about me as I feel about him?”
Wasich was eventually proven wrong and the couple’s feelings for each other grew as they spent more time together. “Over the past year, our relationship has developed considerably, as you can probably tell,” Pattinson told Vanity Fair. “It’s been really nice to see how the more we get to know each other, the more we like each other. So, I think that will be a key to our longevity.”
As for why Wasich felt she had to hide their relationship for so long, she told Vanity Fair that she didn’t want to jeopardize the actor’s spot on the franchise, since he was already so firmly established there. “I didn’t want to be the ‘bad guy,’” she said. “I didn’t want to hurt his career.”
The couple’s engagement was announced at the end of 2018 and while they had originally hoped to wed this year, the ceremony was pushed back to June 2020. In the meantime, they have been very busy, with Mia Wasich filming several commercials and working on the third season of her web series, The London Season, which will follow her and her co-star, Anna Kendrick, as they navigate the intricacies of English society in the 1950s.