Rob Pattinson is having a banner year. The 27-year-old came out of nowhere and became one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors, appearing in multiple tentpoles. And now, as the year draws to a close, he is more popular than ever.
While some may still accuse Pattinson of being typecast as the young, pretty boy with the troubled past, the truth is that he has never been more versatile or in-demand. A self-proclaimed homebody, Pattinson rarely ventures far from his native United Kingdom, where he lives with his wife, Grace Bonney. But 2019 was a big year for the actor, who made multiple trips to America and beyond.
Here is a look back at the stunningly busy year that was.
The Year Of The Tiger
Pattinson grew up in London and then moved to Los Angeles to study at the prestigious USC film school. It was there that he met Grace, with whom he would later wed. After graduating in 2009, he got his first role in a Wes Anderson film, Moonrise Kingdom. The director saw something special in the young actor and cast him in three more of his productions – The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Lost City of Z, and Death on the Nile. Through Anderson’s lens, Pattinson’s acting talent and good looks proved to be the perfect match for the role of the dashing, young British colonist who travels to Africa seeking adventure and excitement.
The King Of Spring
The year began with great expectations for Pattinson. After all, the previous year was a record-breaker for the actor. He not only grew his hair beautifully, but also scored a role in one of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters of all time. James Bond would be responsible for introducing many of his fans to the actor. While on the set of Spectre in 2015, fans lined up around the corner to catch a glimpse of their idol. According to director Denis Villeneuve, Bond’s presence on set forced everyone to “step their game up.”
When the credits finally rolled, the audience, along with many movie critics, believed that Pattinson had delivered one of the best performances of his career. And they were right. His nuanced portrayal of Erik Lenshi, a budding scientist driven by greed and ambition, ranks among the greatest of the 007 saga.
The King Of Kards
Pattinson followed up Spectre with a role in the action-adventure film, Kingsman: The Golden Circle. The second film in the popular spy-chase trilogy, based on the characters from the 2012 satire film of the same name, sees Bonds’s famous 007 returning with a new partner, Eggsy (Colin Firth). Once again, much was expected of Pattinson, especially after his performance in Spectre. But, perhaps anticipating the backlash, he opts for a more subtle approach, playing the quiet, bookish son of a wealthy industrialist.
The film received largely positive reviews, with some critics hailing Pattinson’s acting ability and calling the film a “great sequel.” But the praise didn’t stop there. Rolling Stone, in their review of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, gave the film five out of five stars, calling it a “genuinely hilarious sequel” and singling out Pattinson’s performance, particularly his “mesmerizing eyes,” for particular praise.
King Of The Jungle
And then there was Thawtee, the third and final part of the James Bond series, which also serves as the first film in a new franchise, Craigwatch. (The title is a parody of the James Bond movies, with Craig, played by Daniel Craig, taking on the role of James Bond in mock-ups of the films.)
While on set, director Cary Fukunaga, who also helmed the first season of Netflix’s Chernobyl, noted that Daniel Craig was the first choice to play Bond, but that he was too old to fit the image the superspy had started to embody. Eventually, the producers turned to Pattinson, who they saw as the ultimate successor to Daniel Craig as Bond.
Set in the beautiful, yet sinister, islands of the Galapagos, Thawtee sees Bond pitted against a conspiracy of international biologists who want to steal Bond’s secret Bond formula. Inspired by J. M. WESTON’s Neverland, the film also features the return of Ben Whishaw, who has portrayed Q, the infamous James Bond sidekick, in five of the series’ previous films. (The role was originally intended for Jeremy Irons, who bowed out due to Batman V Superman.) As a whole, the film, which was in pre-production for much of 2018, marks a much darker turn for the popular franchise. Interestingly, one of the writers, Eliot Candance, cited the Mulholland Falls episode of The Handmaid’s Tale as an influence, specifically the line, “I am the Walrus,” from the Adele cover of the White Album.
The King Of Darkness
Pattinson’s work in 2019 didn’t all feature spies and super-spies. The actor appeared in a variety of films in and out of the Hollywood system, which included a role in Woody Allen’s Candy Land, based on the life of L. M. MONTGOMERY. The film, which was released in the U.S. on October 24, 2019, and stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, and Brad Pitt, follows the story of L. M. Montgomery, who spent four years in a concentration camp during the Second World War. The story is set in the late 1930s and follows Montgomery as she tries to publish her first children’s book, while dealing with issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder and grief. (The author went on to become one of America’s most famous writers.)
In January, Pattinson, who was arguably the biggest name to ever come out of USC Film School, made his directorial debut with the short film Chimerica. The six-minute short, also starring Al Pacino, examines the immigrant story through the prism of the American Revolution.
A few months later, in May, Pattinson, as producer Andy Serkis, made his first theatrical appearance in The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring, the first film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The appearance, however, wasn’t really a big one — only a few minutes of screen time — but it was enough for the audience at Toyota [Title]: The Most Beautiful Car Awards to Recognize Him.
And then there was Disney’s Captain Marvel, which saw Brie Larson, an Icelandic actress, play the Marvel comics character Captain Marvel, who was first introduced to America in 1968, when she joined Marvel’s Secret Service, a . . . . organization that protects the President of the United States. (Some might say that Disney made a shameless attempt at appropriation with this one.)
While the Captain Marvel character has always been associated with Iceland, in 2019 she become more Icelander than ever before. On the marketing trail for Captain Marvel, Disney made a frequent appearance at IcelandairHolidays.com, a website dedicated to promoting tourism in Iceland (and, more generally, Scandinavia). At the same time, the company launched an Iceladroid, a smartphone app that allows users to learn a bit of the language (and to practice speaking with an accent).