In the tried and true nature of all movie magic moments, it only took one film to turn Robert Pattinson from featured player to the idol of millions of teenaged girls around the globe. The British actor, who prior to 2008 was best known as the doomed Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), was cast as Edward Cullen, the romantic vampire hero of Twilight (2008). The news of the casting sent shockwaves through the young adult community that worshiped the novels by Stephanie Meyer on which the film was based, and who quickly elevated Pattinson to favored pin-up status. The buzz around Pattinson seemed to solidify what the British press had ordained him in 2005 a Star of Tomorrow.
Born Robert Thomas-Pattinson on May 13, 1986 in London, England, he was raised in the suburb of Barnes by his parents, Clare and Robert Pattinson. Acting captured his fancy at an early age and soon supplanted schoolwork as his sole focus. As a teenager, he joined the prestigious Barnes Theatre Club, which gave him an education in classic drama. A casting agent saw him in a production of Tess of the Durbervilles and encouraged him to pursue performing as a career. He made his screen debut in 2004 in a German TV production of the epic fantasy Ring of the Nibelungs, which aired in the United States as Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King in 2006. Pattinson also landed a minor role as a younger version of James Purefoys character in Mira Nairs adaptation of Vanity Fair (2004), but his scenes were left on the cutting room floor.
Immediately after returning from the South African set of Nibelungs, he was awarded the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for director Mike Newell. Diggory, the hero of rival wizard school Hufflepuff, was Harrys opponent on both the Quidditch field and in romance, as he trumped Harrys two wins at the TriWizard Tournament by squiring the young heros beloved, Cho Chang, to the Yule Ball. Diggorys moment in the sun was short-lived, as both he and Harry faced down the sinister Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). The villains henchman, Peter Pettigrew, dispatched Diggory, who was mourned by the entire school. The press, in its raves over Newells film adaptation, singled out Pattinson for his charismatic performance, and some went as far as to name him a future Jude Law. The Times Online also bestowed the Star of Tomorrow award upon him.
Pattinsons sudden popularity afforded him some choice roles post-Potter. He was top-billed as a shell-shocked World War II airman in the supernatural thriller The Haunted Airman for BBC Four, and later played a nerdy student with a crush on his teacher (Catherine Tate) in the highly rated drama, The Bad Mothers Handbook (2007) for ITV. That same year, he returned briefly to the wizard world with a flashback cameo as Diggory in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
The year 2008 saw Pattinson return to features with How To Be, which earned him critical acclaim for his portrayal of a depressed young man who attempts to wrest some control over his spiraling life. Pattinson also tackled the role of legendary surrealist Salvador Dali in the arthouse effort, Little Ashes, which explored the friendship between Dali, filmmaker Luis Bunuel and poet Federico Garcia Lorca, as well as the unusual romance that developed between the former and the latter. However, everything that came before was overshadowed by the high-powered spotlight that shone on Pattinson after he was cast as Edward Cullen in Catherine Hardwickes adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's teen novel, Twilight (2008). A century-old vampire trapped in the body of a 17-year-old, Cullen falls madly in love with a human girl, Isabella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and later runs afoul of a malevolent fellow bloodsucker with designs on his new girlfriend.
Massively popular with teenage girls, the news of Pattinson being cast as Edward was met with almost equal excitement as the reaction to the book-to-film adaptation in the first place. Internet fan sites quickly sprung up to celebrate him and debate his crushworthy status in great detail, including everything from his unique stand-up hair style to his handsome profile. A bit like a deer in headlights at the overnight fame, Pattison tried to stay largely out of the public eye. When he began filming the inevitable sequel to the smash hit, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (2009), rumors began flying that he was head-over-heels in love with his co-star, Stewart. Pages upon pages in magazines and on websites were devoted to dissecting each photo of them together; each interview. The "are they or aren't they" furor reached fever pitch before the film's fall 2009 release.
Copyright © Baseline 2009.