Every celebrity has a bad boy image; your job is just to make sure that it’s grounded in reality.
Take Robert Pattinson. Even if you’ve never heard of him, you probably know exactly what he looks like. Tall, dark, and handsome, Pattinson is the modern day embodiment of the Bad Boy. But what is the reality behind the image? Let’s take a look.
The Early Years
Pattinson was born in London in 1986. His parents are divorced and his mother is a doctor. Despite this, he grew up in a relatively poor area of South London where he was raised by his protective grandparents.
After school, he studied economics at University College London. While there, he became interested in acting and landed a role in the university’s annual production of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In 2009, he graduated with a first class degree. Soon after, he was offered a role in J.K. Rowling’s cinematic adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Pattinson starred as Potter himself and the film was a huge hit, earning over $650 million worldwide.
The following year, he appeared in two hit films: Twilight and Snow White and the Huntsman. In Twilight, he portrayed the heartthrob Edward Cullen, opposite Robert-Saint-Émilion’s teenybopper version of the titular character. In Snow White, he played a conniving prince who bewitches our heroine Snow White (played by Lily Collins). He then took a small break from the big screen to shoot the music video for Snow White’s theme song, “Pure Heart.”
The Downfall
Pattinson’s career took a turn for the worse in 2013 when he was involved in a serious car accident. He was involved in a high-speed car chase with a police escort that ended in a head-on collision. Both he and the police escort were ejected from their vehicles. Though none of the injuries were life-threatening, the accident still left him with serious leg and back trauma. He had to have his hip replaced and required months of rehabilitation. The resulting injuries put his acting career on hold for the time being.
While he was in rehab, he took a break from acting to indulge his other hobbies. These included woodworking and drawing. He has also said that he plans to write a graphic novel about his adventures in car theft. The book is titled Telomerase, and it will be published in the near future. In the meantime, we have the film Collision to look forward to in 2016. In this car crash drama, he plays a successful business executive who falls from grace after an accident involving sex and drugs at a wild party held by one of his employees.
Getting Over The Crash
Pattinson is now back on the acting circuit and has been enjoying some success. In 2014, he starred opposite Kate Winslet in the film adaptation of Philip Roth’s American Pastoral and in the indie comedy Bad Words. Later that year, he landed a role in one of the most anticipated films of the year: Gone Girl. The film, based on the bestselling book of the same name, is about a woman (played by Rosamund Pike) whose husband (Pattinson) supposedly killed himself. But was it really suicide, as his widow believes? Facing an uncertain future, she seeks comfort in a new man, which leads her to confront the person who could become her replacement husband. A lot is at stake: not only her own life, but that of her child as well.
But the biggest role of Pattinson’s career came in 2015 when he was chosen to be the face of Burberry’s iconic trench coat campaign. The shot of him draped in the trench coat has become one of the most recognizable images of the year. He has also been spotted on the cover of magazines including Vogue and Vanity Fair. It seems that, after years of being typecast, the dashing star has finally found his versatility.
The Making Of The Art
Behind the scenes of Burberry’s iconic trench coat campaign, we find an artistic process that is as beautiful as it is interesting. The creative team — makeup artist Ben Cooley, photographer Michael Whiteward, and hair and wardrobe stylist Anna-Marie Krupin — collaborated on a series of photo-realistic paintings that serve as a life-cast of Robert Pattinson. The trio interpreted the role of a dashing, yet lovable rogue who steals hearts in the fashion industry with his charm and wit. The result is a unique piece of artwork that stands as a testimony to the transformative power of film. The pictures are for sale, and you can check out more of the making of this art project here.
The Final Word
Making a life-cast of a famous person is a unique and innovative way to preserve their appearance for future generations. When done right, it can be a valuable historical record and a piece of artwork that is worth collecting.
But for now, let’s just enjoy the fact that we have a life-cast of an icon. While it may not always be perfect, we have the beauty of cinema to thank for the inspiration it gave us. We can’t wait to see what Pattinson does next!