There are many reasons why Rob Pattinson is one of Britain’s most popular celebrity sons. Firstly, he has a killer smile, which has graced the covers of magazines across the globe. Secondly, he’s a talented actor who can transform himself into any character. Finally, he’s a good sport who has never been short of female fans. However, it’s not just his charm that has captured the imagination of followers – he is also considered to be one of the best movie stuntmen in existence, having mastered the art of film fighting (or as he calls it, action scenes).
In the tradition of Tom Hanks’ character in A Bridge Too Far, Robert Pattinson’s professional career began in films. A self-confessed movie fanatic, he adores classic films, and it was in the fifth year of his studies at Oxford that he had the opportunity to showcase his skills as an actor in one of the most memorable films of all time. The film is called Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and it was on its release in 2002 that it became one of the biggest movies of all time, breaking box office records and establishing J.K. Rowling’s young wizard as a worldwide phenomenon.
From Oxford to Hollywood
Having left Oxford aged 23 with no degree, Rob moved to Los Angeles in the hope of furthering his career in films. It was there he was spotted by a talent agent who then secured him a role in a television show called Reunited. The pilot was well-received, and the show went on to become one of the highest-rated programs on Sky Atlantic. In 2008, he reprised his role as Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, which proved to be a final curtain for the boy wizard. Although he’s best-known for playing the iconic character, Rob has acted in many other TV shows and films since, including the 2013 blockbuster The Hobbit film and its forthcoming sequel, The Hobbit: There And Back Again.
Rob is passionate about acting, and he often shares his thoughts on the subject with the media. In a 2015 interview with Digital Spy, he said: “I feel like there are so many brilliant filmmakers out there who could give life to so many amazing stories, but for some reason we keep on getting stuck with crap.”
The Australian actor, who was raised in London and studied at the English Theater School, has also spoken about his love of British culture and how much he enjoys living in the country. He told the Daily Telegraph: “I love England. The whole thing about London is that you can be in the middle of nowhere in a few minutes. The transport system is brilliant, and the culture is amazing.”
Stuntman Rob Pattinson
One of the most exciting aspects of the Harry Potter films is the action scenes. Despite being a young boy when he made his debut in the first Potter film, it was already clear that Rob had a flare for the dramatic. During his time at Oxford, he would regularly attend classes and watch films with the director, Alfonso Cuarón, who would later become one of his best friends. “We would watch films like The Godfather and other big-budget epics, and then we would do our own stunt sequences,” Cuarón once said of their experience together. “Rob was always up for taking on new roles. Every time I called him, he would have a new character in mind.”
It was while studying acting in Oxford that Rob really started to develop his skills as a stuntman. Taking drama classes with renowned acting coach, Michael Curtiz, he learned how to react to stressful situations and engage with his fellow actors. He also learned how to protect himself from injury, as well as how to fall safely – something that he puts to excellent use in real life as well as on screen. He is currently in the middle of a legendary running joke with his brother, Charlie, who he refers to as his stuntman – Charlie frequently takes on the roles which Rob has been shooting down in scenes – and the two of them frequently work together in real life as well as on screen. While Charlie mostly works with their father, Ivan, on their family-run farm, Rob often finds himself acting alongside his Hollywood friends in projects such as The Great Gatsby and The Lobster. He also took part in the highly-publicized running battle between Batman and Superman, battling it out in the streets of New York.
“I’m not big on being bound by rules,” Rob said in 2014, when asked about the moral boundaries he would be willing to cross for a role. “If there’s a story that I feel I could tell better than anyone else, then I’ll do it.”
Indeed, if you’re looking for a truly unique story about an accomplished and charming young man whose life is forever changed by a girl, then Harry Potter is not the story for you. It certainly didn’t hurt that the franchise achieved record-breaking levels of popularity, generating an estimated $14 billion in revenue globally, nor that it is one of the most popular film series of all time. If you are, however, looking for a story about an extremely resourceful and talented young man who not only survives but eventually thrives in the action film world, then the Harry Potter films are definitely for you.