In the lead-up to the release of his latest movie, Beloved, we’re taking a look at the actor’s incredible portfolio of work – from music videos to small-screen appearances to even larger-than-life performances – to see what makes this film so special.
Music Videos
The first music video we’ll look at is for the band Little Britain, from the 2000 movie Dreamers. We’ll let the clip speak for itself:
As you can see, the video features Robert Pattinson as a sad, lonely musician trying to make it big in the music industry. It’s a pretty dark, brooding clip that perfectly encapsulates Pattinson’s tortured soul. That being said, it’s not an easy clip to sit through – which might be why it hasn’t been included among Robert’s favorite videos. As for the rest of the clip, Pattinson performs the song “Perfect Day” from the band’s self-titled album.
MTV Movie Awards
Next, let’s look at Robert Pattinson’s performance for the 2001 MTV Movie Awards. The actor won the award for Best Villain — alongside Heath Ledger’s Joker and Freddy Mercury’s The Mockney Man – for his portrayal of Lestat, the vampire leader in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?
As you can see, Pattinson plays the part with such passion and charisma that it’s easy to see why he won the award. Here, he portrays a seductive creature of the night who preys on the weak. This was the beginning of a long and successful run for Pattinson, whose work in this movie has led to him earning three more MTV Movie Awards: Best Kiss, Best Fight, and Best Drama Actor.
It’s safe to say that the 2002 MTV Movie Awards were definitely a highlight for Pattinson. Directed by Martha Hughes Hopkins, the film follows the life of a New York City ballet dancer as she deals with addiction, homelessness, and her abusive ex-boyfriend.
The story revolves around dancer Victoria (Vanessa Hudgens), who, along with a small group of friends, goes on an all-expenses-paid trip to Madrid to audition for a prestigious international ballet company. The twist? Victoria’s ex-boyfriend, Alex (Chris Pine), has a hidden agenda: He wants to destroy their relationship and wants to be the one to replace Victoria with the company.
The resulting performance was so transcendent that several critics compared it to a religious experience. At the time of writing, this is one of Robert Pattinson’s most popular clips, having received over 40 million views on YouTube.
The House of Gucci
Next up is the Gucci movie Hardbodies, starring Vin Diesel. As the name would suggest, the movie is set in a body-modeling agency, where Diesel plays a successful entrepreneur who is constantly being challenged by a rival. The scene we’re looking at now happens toward the end of the movie. While at a party, Diesel is approached by an old friend (Pattinson), who invites him to visit his mansion: A place, as it turns out, where dreams come true for Diesel.
The next clip is one more example of Robert Pattinson at his villainous best. As previously mentioned, the actor is a born and bred Brit, and you can bet that his accent is something to behold. In this scene, which comes from the directorial debut of Justin Lin (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jonathan Goldstein), he plays a British spy who has infiltrated an underground poker game in New York City. The game is being run by a corrupt cop (Morgan Freeman), who’s enlisted the help of a beautiful, intelligent agent (Radha Mitchell) to take down the spies – including Pattinson’s character.
The final scene we’ll look at is from the 2016 biopic The Danish Girl, which tells the story of Lili Elbe, who, in order to better her life, undergoes a sex change operation. While her fellow dancers (including Pattinson) are initially supportive of her decision, the more traditional members of her community are not and eventually try to keep her from transforming herself into a woman.
By this point, you may be wondering why we’re only looking at clips from films. Well, that’s because there are too many incredible moments to fit into one article. But, rest assured, we haven’t forgotten about the actor’s body of work on YouTube. Far from it. In fact, we’ll be revisiting some of his funniest, most popular, and most meme-worthy videos in the near future.