Everyone has a bucket list. A collection of things that you want to do before you die. For some of us, our bucket list might include meeting a certain famous person. Maybe even scoring a point or two on the grand piano at a famous piano bar. For others, it may include skydiving, bungee jumping, or riding a motorcycle across the country. For Robert Pattinson, his bucket list included not just skydiving and motorcycling, but also winning an Oscar and becoming a British actor. He became the youngest member of the Royal Shakespeare Company at the age of 26, and then proceeded to win two more major acting awards. He also wrote and directed his first feature film, and released his second album the following year. Not bad for someone who was once dubbed “The English Justin Beiber”.
Pattinson was born on December 25, 1986 in London. His father was a jazz musician, and his mother taught ballroom dancing. He grew up in the countryside outside of London and attended St John’s School in Leatherhead. During his teens, his family relocated to Los Angeles so that he could further his studies at the Beverly Hills High School. While there, he met Dakota Fanning, who went on to star in his second film, What to Expect When You’re Expecting.
After high school, Pattinson attended New York University to study film. While at NYU, he began working with the famed William Morris Agency, representing many A-list actors, such as Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, and Gwyneth Paltrow. He later transferred to the London School of Economics, where he graduated with a master’s degree in economics. In 2011, he returned to the United States where he began working on his acting career. He had a key role in the film adaptation of John Grisham’s The Picking, and then subsequently landed the part of Christian Grey in the hit film adaptation of the novel, 50 Shades of Grey. He has also been connected to several high-profile projects, such as the James Bond film Spectre and the Brad Pitt-produced War of the Worlds. Currently, he is filming the horror movie The Midnight Meat Train, in which he portrays a cannibalistic serial killer. It is scheduled for release in March 2021.
2006 And Beyond
Since the beginning of 2006, Pattinson has been working steadily, appearing in numerous films and on TV shows. In 2007, he was nominated for a BAFTA award for his role in the BBC series, The Long Trip, but lost to Tom Hanks. In 2010, he was recognized for his dedication to his craft with a prestigious Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for his role in The Social Network. Since then, he has continued to rack up the Oscar nominations, picking up nods for his roles in Good Time in 2019 and The Wedding in early 2021. But his career really took off in 2009 with the release of two blockbuster films. He provided the voice of Scrooge in 2011’s live-action adaptation of Scrooge, which was a worldwide hit, earning more than $500 million at the box office. In addition, he played the lead in the highly anticipated David Cronenberg film, Cosmopolis, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018 and was released in theaters in early 2022.
Pattinson continued to act prolifically in the 2010s, tackling more challenging and distinctive roles in the likes of Maps to the Stars, Dangerous, and Twilight Sparkle: Agent of Peace. In 2019, he wrapped production on the Netflix political thriller, The House of Gucci, and the following month began filming on the upcoming Netflix adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Besides acting, Pattinson has dabbled in writing and directing. He penned a humorous novel, Getting Filthy Rich, which was published in 2019. The same year, he also released his first director’s cut of a short film, titled Chasing Ice, which he wrote and directed. In July 2020, he released a stand-alone short film, titled The High Window, set in the 1920s. It is based on the Agatha Christie short story, “The Man in the Brown Suit.”
Pattinson has been in high demand as an actor ever since the release of his first feature film. Despite his busy schedule, he continues to find time to give his fans the pleasure of seeing him onscreen. Perhaps his greatest gift is that he never tires of giving interviews and taking a stand on important issues. He has been vocal about his support for various charities, including Great Ormond Street Hospital and the National Wildlife Fund.