Sarah Parvis - Robert Pattinson

For a guy who only started acting at 15, Robert Pattinsons rise to the top has been as exciting as it has been fast. In a few short years, hes gone from slacking at his studies at an elite school in London to starring in two of the biggest film series in recent box-office history. At 18, he turned girls heads worldwide as doomed heartthrob Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Then he beat out thousands of hopefuls to score the male lead in Twilight, the first in a series of movies based on the best-selling books by Stephenie Meyer. Twilight tells the story of Bella Swan, a mortal who falls dangerously in love with vampire Edward Cullen.

Though Robert Pattinson is just at the start of his career, hes accomplished a lot. Hes performed alongside some seriously huge movie stars, tackled daunting stunts, and delighted audiences in big-budget blockbusters and quirky independent films. Read on to learn more about this gorgeous box-office darling.

R obert was born on May 13, 1986, in Barnes, an affluent suburb of Englands capital, London. As a teen, he performed in plays at the Barnes Theatre Company and the nearby Old Sorting Office Community Arts Centre. With the Barnes Theatre Company, Robert first worked backstage assisting on productions. After a brief stint as a tech hand, he decided hed like to be on the stage, under the bright lights. For some reason, when I finished the backstage thing, I just decided that I should try to act. So I auditioned for Guys and Dolls. And he isnt embarrassed to say it: He wanted the lead and was sure he would get the role of Nathan Detroit. He was crushed when he scored a part as an unnamed Cuban dancer in the production. Even though he was disappointed, he worked hard and delivered his best performance. His commitment paid off. The next show on the theaters schedule was Our Town by Thornton Wilderand Rob landed the lead! He also strutted his stuff in Anything Goes. I owe everything to that little club, Robert has said.

At the Old Sorting Office, the future film star tackled roles like Malcolm, the kings noble son in Macbeth, and Alec in Tess of the dUrbervilles. At 17, he took what hed learned treading the boards at the theater and applied it to his very first movie role. He was lucky enough to be cast in the German TV movie Ring of the Nibelungs. Not only did he get his first part in a movie, he found out that hed be spending three months filming in South Africa!

POP QUIZ

It was in the Barnes Theatre Companys production of Our Town that Rob first got to try out his American accent. What was the first movie in which Robert used an American accent?

A: Twilight

did you know?

Robert has two older sisters. When he was little, they would play games with him. One of their favorites involved dressing up poor Rob to look like a girl. They would then introduce him as Claudia.

The day before Robert left for Cape Town in South Africa, he met with Mike Newell, the director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Though he didnt know it at the time, this was a meeting that would change his life. As soon as he returned from Africa, he met with Mike again in London and got some very good news: He had landed the part of Hufflepuff house champ, Cedric Diggory, in the fourth installment of the Potter mega-series.

Although he was one of the few people on the planet who wasnt yet following the epic story of the young wizard, Robert quickly threw himself into the books. Its impossible to hate Cedric. Hes competitive but hes also a nice guy, said Robert. Everyone semi-idolizes him. All the girls fancy him, and the guys want to be him. In short, it was the perfect part for Robert Pattinson!

did you know?

If you want to check out 17-year-old
Robert in Ring of the Nibelungs,
you wont be able to find it under
that name in the United States. The
movie came out in the U.S. as Dark
Kingdom: The Dragon King.

G oblet of Fire director Mike Newell knew hed found the right actor for the part. As he put it, Robert Pattinson was born to play the role; hes quintessentially English with chiseled public schoolboy good looks. Although Newell was convinced, Robert was unsure. He may have looked the part, but he didnt think he resembled the character in other ways. I was never a leader, said Robert, who admits he never really took his schoolwork seriously, and the idea of my ever being made head boy would have been a complete joke.

Hes even said that playing such a nice guy helped him to become a better person. He was impressed by what a gentleman the character was and took the lesson to heart. I became a lot more polite during filming, shared Robert, and I started holding open doors for people.

Robert was also aware that he was new to the film business and he was determined to make his performance a success. He gave it his all. To keep himself from getting too nervous, he read the script and the books over and over again. What was the scariest part of the process for Robert? Believe it or not, he was worried about looking the part! In the book and also my first introduction of the script is like an absurdly handsome seventeen-year-old and it kind of puts you off a little bit, when youre trying to act, and youre trying to get good angles to look good-looking and stuff. Its really stupid. But I think thats the most daunting part about itits much scarier than meeting Voldemort!

M any of the other actors on the set of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire had already worked together before. In fact, at that point, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson had all been working together for more than five years. For a newcomer to the cast, becoming a part of the group could have been difficult. Luckily, the moviemakers had thought of that. The newest members of the cast were brought together for two weeks before shooting began. They participated in acting classes and bonding exercises to make their transition as smooth as possible.