True talent is occasionally rewarded with deservingly extraordinary roles straight away. The majority of the time, though, one needs to work on a few warm-up roles to acquire the true quality roles. This is especially true for Robert Pattinson, whose warm-up character was Edward Cullen, the immensely popular juvenile vampire hit. In this article, we are going to discuss some of the best roles played by Robert Pattinson.
Despite harsh critical criticism of the films, particularly Pattinson’s performance, Pattinson went on to prove critics wrong and establish a reputation as the actor he aspired to be. Twilight propelled Robert Pattinson into global recognition and made him a full-fledged Hollywood celebrity after his appearance as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire originally placed him on the map in 2005.
Pattinson has avoided high-budget, mainstream productions in favor of working on the independent circuit during the previous few years. He has perfectly portrayed some of the best roles of this cinematic era. We have compiled a list of the 10 best roles played by Robert Pattinson below.
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Take a look at our list of 10 best roles played by Robert Pattinson:
1. The Twilight Saga (2008 – 2012)
Robert Pattinson’s first and worst claim to fame is the Twilight franchise. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) has just moved to the wet small Washington town of Forks from Arizona, where sparkling vampires are unthinkable.
Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) is a pale-skinned, crazy-eyed high school student who can’t take Bella’s smell but is incredibly hungry for her. Result? They fall in love, and everything goes wrong.
2. The Devil All the Time (2020)
Director Antonio Campos oversaw the adaptation of Donald Ray Pollock’s novel with a promising all-star ensemble starring Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgard, Riley Keough, Sebastian Stan, and others.
The outstanding performances, particularly Pattinson’s depiction of Preston Teagardin, an evil small-town preacher who grooms adolescent girls from his church, are the highlight of this otherwise mediocre movie.
3. Remember Me (2010)
During the Twilight saga’s filming, Pattinson appeared to be open to any work that would get him away from his nightmare of a film deal. Tyler Hawkins (Pattinson) is a reckless mass of angst and anger in this film after his parents divorced as a result of his older brother’s suicide.
His father is away, as usual, working hard while making little time for his children, while he and his younger sister try to stay close through it all. Oh, and there’s a romantic tale that feels out of place, even though it’s the plot’s main emphasis.
4. The Lost City of Z (2016)
The Lost City of Z is based on David Grann’s novel of the same name and recounts British officer Percy Fawcett’s (Charlie Hunnam) decades-long search for an unknown civilization in the Amazon rainforest in the 1920s. Pattinson plays Corporal Henry Costin, Fawcett’s extremely devoted and equally committed second-in-command, in a rare supporting role.
Pattinson, who plays Costin, hides behind a bushy beard and provides a controlled performance that demonstrates his versatility as a character actor as well as his ability to lead a picture. Pattinson’s screen time in this James Gray picture is short, but he makes the most of it to depict a well-rounded character.
5. The King (2019)
The rising of Henry V (Timothée Chalamet) in the aftermath of his father’s death is the focus of David Mîchod’s 2019 retelling of a few plays from William Shakespeare’s Henriad. Even though this is Chalamet’s film and his bowl cut, Pattinson as Louis, The Dauphin, becomes the ultimate scene-stealer.
Pattinson’s amusing and slightly crazy depiction of bob-wearing Louis, which is introduced nearly an hour into The King, is probably the film’s most enjoyable part and serves as the humorous relief of this otherwise serious historical drama.
6. High Life (2018)
While it’s often difficult to tell what’s going on in High Life, the sci-fi idea is unquestionably innovative and intense throughout this unnerving picture. Monte, played by Pattinson, is a member of a death row space mission tasked with investigating a black hole near the solar system’s boundary.
Unaware of their actual goal, the group is subjected to human reproductive experiments by Dibs (Juliette Binoche), a witchy and creepy doctor who uses medicines to securely perform her studies. It is one of the best roles played by Robert Pattinson.
7. The Lighthouse (2019)
It’s a beautiful film of two solitary lighthouse keepers on a rural New England island who struggle to save their sanity. The talents of Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe provide color to this black-and-white horror film set in the 1890s. The former has received special attention for his sledgehammer portrayal of the disintegrating, solitary protagonist.
In the face of this maritime nightmare, his hold on his performance strengthens as Thomas Howard’s grip on reality loosens.
8. Cosmopolis (2012)
Cosmopolis, Pattinson’s first collaboration with David Cronenberg, was launched the same year as The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 and served as his move out of the mainstream and into what would become a passion-driven career.
Pattinson plays Eric Parker, a hateful billionaire tech bro who, while traveling about New York City in a stretch limo, observes the world around him fall apart yet is unfazed. Pattinson gives a subtle and simple performance that demonstrates his versatility in front of the camera.
9. Good Time (2017)
In this visceral Safdie Brothers thriller, platinum blonde Pattinson plays low-level criminal Connie Nikas, who is both dangerous and charismatic. Connie and his mentally disabled brother, Nick (Benny Safdie), fail to rob a bank, and Nick is arrested.
Connie spends the rest of the movie frantically rushing through the underbelly of New York City, manipulating everyone in his path, from his older girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to a teenage girl (Taliah Webster).
This gritty, panic-inducing picture signaled a new chapter in Pattinson’s career, and the Safdies displayed Pattinson’s strongest performance to date, akin to Adam Sandler’s career-best performance in Uncut Gems.
10. Tenet (2020)
After a succession of small films, Pattinson returned to big-budget projects with Tenet. In this time-bending epic, Pattinson plays Neil alongside John David Washington’s The Protagonist (yep, that’s the character’s real name) as they combat terrorism and try to prevent a possibly world-ending calamity.
It’s a divisive film that rarely makes sense—Pattinson himself admitted that he had no idea what Tenet was about—and doesn’t give Pattinson much room to show off his acting chops, but it does allow him to demonstrate that he can seamlessly lead action films and auteur-driven films while convincing us that he understands what’s going on.
Pattinson has proved time and time again that he can be both an indie darling and a blockbuster leading man; he can play everything from a moody vampire to a bank robber, a corrupt preacher to a caped crusader. Some of the best roles played by Robert Pattinson are listed above.
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