Robert Pattinson appears in his second film with Canada’s king of darkness, David Cronenberg.
He’s an aspiring actor who is really a chauffeur in Maps to the Stars, Cronenberg’s searing satire on Tinseltown.
Pattinson’s performance shows that, as in Cosmopolis, Cronenberg pushes him to new heights as an actor and adds new and surprising elements to his repertoire.
The onetime teen heartthrob from the Twilight era is gone, what we see now is a grown man with talent, breaking down barriers and exploring new depths.
M&C spoke with Pattinson at the Toronto International Film Festival.
We spoke when you did the first Twilight film and you seemed to be pained by the whole Hollywood process, you were so shy.
I was probably hung-over! (Laughs heartily)
And you avoided being in the thick of it. Maps to the Stars explores this sudden stardom idea, like you experienced. Have you adjusted?
I’m glad I was a little bit older when Twilight came out, 21 or 22, It makes a really big difference than if you were 14 or 15 and also I fell into it and didn’t realise what was going on at the beginning.
I was just kind of having a laugh. It didn’t feel like it was Harry Potter and that was the only precedent before that so I basically spent the next three years pottering around, and working so much, so the eye of the storm was over before I had the chance to think about it.
David Cronenberg takes a very dim view of Hollywood in the film. Do you see what he sees?
There are certain archetypes and characters. I guess he has a dim view, but he’s presenting very raw emotional people on their psyches are a little bit ragged.
He’s extremely sympathetic, especially Havana revealing her humour and pathos. You can’t hate her. In reality those kinds of women are hated by everyone, it’s a real testament to Julianne.
No one’s horrible, Evans funny, he can be a little hit, but he’s a witty little s**t.
Do you share Cronenberg’s dark imaginings, this being your second film together?
Yes I have a similar sense of humour. I just like working with him, he’s so prolific and each one, Cosmopolis and this are striking original movies. This is a new phase of his career and Maps especially seems different and Cosmopolis as well and strangely more accessible.
It’s a different kettle of fish, but he’s still there.
Yes ha!
You have to work with Atom Egoyan next, to be fair.
I’ve never met him. I’m just waiting for the moment.