How Robert Pattison Nailed His Twilight Audition

Robert Pattinson is getting attention for his upcoming role as Batman, but real fans know him as Edward Cullen, the vampire heartthrob from the hugely popular Twilight movies. In a recent video for GQ, Pattinson revealed some secrets from his most famous role.

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Pattinson’s Nerves Almost Kept Him From Auditioning For ‘Twilight’

At the time of his Twilight audition, Pattinson was relatively unknown; his most notable role at the time was a small part in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. So, it comes as no surprise that auditions made Pattinson nervous.

“I had started to develop this absolute terror of auditions, which I’m sure a lot of actors have,” Pattinson said. “I could be so enthusiastic about something and then the day of the audition, my confidence would just entirely collapse. The same thing happened on the morning of the Twilight audition.”

Pattinson was living on his agent’s couch at the time, and when he told her he was nervous, he didn’t even want to go to the audition, she told him to take a Valium from her bathroom. “I had never taken a Valium before,” the actor laughed. “I just remember feeling so glorious in the back of the taxi with the window open and just being like, ‘Wow, this is what I’ve been missing.’”

“I think I had this quite spacey, detached kind of thing in the audition, which must have worked for the character,” he continued. It turns out, it was what the Rolling Stones called “Mother’s Little Helper” that help Pattison nail the audition and launch his career. Pattinson also spoke about his desire to make the movie more serious.

Pattinson: ‘I Can’t Believe The Way I Was Acting’

“You know, I was 21 and kind of wanted to make it as arty as possible, the actor shared. “We had this strange tension where the studio was kind of a little bit scared to make things a little bit too emo…and I thought that was the only way to play it.”

“It just seems so ridiculous talking about it now,” Pattinson continued. “Because…I spent so much time just infuriated…it’s definitely something about being 21 as well, because I was — I can’t believe the way I was acting.”

Pattinson’s time as Edward Cullen was full of controversy, from almost getting fired due to his acting choices, to facing a petition signed by fans who did not want him cast as Edward. However, the Twilight movies went on to make millions at the box office — and made stars out of Pattinson and his co-star, Kristen Stewart. “When it came out, it just changed everything so fast,” the actor said. “I mean, it was overnight.”