You may know that the 23-year-old actress and singer Grace McCarthy is the daughter of Hollywood legend Joe McCarthy. Well, the same can be said about her contemporary and fellow Hollywood superstar, Robert Pattinson. The British actor was born and raised in England, where he attended the prestigious London Studio School. He then went on to study acting at the Italia in London Film Academy. His training there led to him landing various bit parts in British films before transitioning his focus to become a leading man.
Here’s a breakdown of Pattinson’s filmography, starting with his 2011 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize–winning feature, The Rover. (The Rover is one of the few titles available on Netflix Premiere that you may wish you had seen before making the subscription service.)
2011
In 2011, Pattinson starred in The Rover, a film that centers on a bachelor named Robbie (played by Pattinson) who lives alone and cares for only hisself. The film is based on William Faulkner’s 1954 novel The Rover. Pattinson’s characteristically gruff and brusque manner was a step up from his previous roles, which mostly consisted of showing off his accent and facial expressions. Despite his accent being one of the film’s most notable qualities, there were some audiences that didn’t feel that he was an accurate re-enactment of Faulkner’s brusque attitude. One of the most famed lines from The Rover is this one: “Shut up! You’re as bad as a girl!”
2012
In 2012, Pattinson was previously rumored to be in early stages of the development of an upcoming film about a man who falls in love with a woman he met on a tourist trip to London. The film entitled, Warm Bodies, starred Tilda Swinton and played in England and Japan. The movie premiere was in May 2013, and it was the success of this movie that fueled Pattinson’s next project.
2013
In 2013, Pattinson starred in a leading role as a haunted house owner named Charlie Barnett, who tries to save his marriage to his high-school sweetheart (played by Emma Roberts). His character is based on the legendary English ghost hunter, Elaine Arrington, who specializes in investigating haunted homes. Unlike most of Pattinson’s previous roles, this one was not directed by a British filmmaker but by the American director Jim Steinman. Steinman had previously worked with Pattinson on The Rover, and he wanted to work with him again. The two have since collaborated on four more films to date.
2014
In 2014, Pattinson featured in two high-profile films, the first being a sci-fi thriller that pans the world of black markets, arms deals, and government corruption, starring Chris Evans, Iain Bell, and Barry Brown. The film entitled, Divergent, is the first part of a three-part series based on the novel, The Divergent Trilogy, by K. W. Jeter. The series follows 16-year-old prep school graduate Tris, who is the daughter of wealthy parents who want to see her excel in a competitive and fragile world. While the movie premiere was in March 2015, it was only in December of the same year that the second film in the series was released. This time around, Pattinson portrays the role of a father who is also an agent of the State Security Service. Once again, Pattinson’s disciplined and hard-edged appearance provided him with a variety of roles, ranging from sweet to terrifying. After a brief hiatus, Pattinson returned in 2017 with a film that centers on the child prodigy Liu Chen, who at the age of 12 had created a computer program that cracks a secret government database and earns him a place at Harvard University.
2015
In 2015, Pattinson made a return to his roots with a curious film about a family of dinosaurs who live and breathe fire. He’s played the part of a child dinosaurs in a previously unfilmed scene for the Mongolian prehistoric flora and fauna series, The Jurassic World. While the entirety of the film was unusual and fun to watch, Pattinson’s performance was the truly special part. It was an amazing contribution to an immersive cinema tour that will no doubt grow in popularity thanks to Jurassic
World’s popularity. Not bad for a rookie actor whose first major role was in a film that came out a mere 15 years ago.