Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson was born on May 13, 1986, in London, England, to Richard Pattinson, a car dealer importing vintage cars, and Clare Pattinson (née Charlton),a booker at a model agency. He grew up in Barnes, southwest London, with two older sisters.
From a young age, Pattinson discovered his love for music and began learning the guitar and piano at the age of four. He became a big cinephile in his early teens and preferred watching films over doing his homework. In his late teens and early twenties, he performed solo acoustic guitar gigs at open mic nights in bars and pubs around London, singing his own written songs.
Pattinson never thought about pursuing an acting career, and his drama teacher even advised him not to join the drama club because she thought he wasn't made for creative subjects. However, his father convinced him to join the local amateur theatre club, where he worked backstage for two years before auditioning for the play "Guys and Dolls" at age 15.
He got his first role as a Cuban dancer with no lines and later landed the lead part in the play "Our Town." A talent agent spotted him in the audience, and he began looking for professional roles. His first screen role was a small part in "Vanity Fair" (2004),but he was cut out of the final film and didn't know about it until he attended the premiere.
Pattinson was lucky to land the role of Cedric Diggory in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (2005) and continued to star in mostly smaller British TV productions. Hollywood expressed mild interest in him, and he was still debating whether or not to pursue acting. He occasionally sent audition tapes for roles in America, which led to an in-person audition in Los Angeles for a rom-com.
That audition did not pan out, but he went in for another audition with director Catherine Hardwicke for a part in what he understood to be an indie movie based on a low-profile book about a vampire. The role of Edward Cullen in the film adaptations of the Twilight novels brought him to unexpected worldwide stardom at age 22.
Between the Twilight Saga films, Pattinson starred in "Remember Me" (2010),"Water for Elephants" (2011),and "Bel Ami" (2012). His Twilight-era was surreal, with him being catapulted onto Hollywood's A-list as a heartthrob, but also experiencing preconceptions about what he wanted or was capable of doing as an actor.
That changed with an unexpected straight offer from director David Cronenberg to star in "Cosmopolis" (2012),which he described as an eye-opening experience. It reminded him of his love for cinema, why he wanted to become an actor in the first place, and solidified his desire to work with great filmmakers.
Pattinson since then has starred in mostly independent films from respected auteur directors, such as "The Rover" (2014),"Maps to the Stars" (2014),"Life" (2015),"Queen of the Desert" (2015),and "The Childhood of a Leader" (2015). His role as an explorer in the amazon jungle in "The Lost City of Z" (2016) from director James Gray brought him much critical acclaim.
His transformation to a sleazy, manic conman in the gritty crime thriller "Good Time" (2017) earned a six-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and brought him a nomination for Best Actor at the Independent Spirit Awards. It was a major step for his transition into a character actor with incredible range, with critics calling his performance a revelation and career-defining.
Pattinson has continued to star in a wide range of films, including "Damsel" (2018),"High Life" (2018),"The King" (2019),"The Lighthouse" (2019),and "The Devil All the Time" (2020). He returned to mainstream films with a leading role in Christopher Nolan's time-bending spy film "Tenet" (2020) and will star as the DC Comics superhero Batman in Matt Reeves' film "The Batman" (2022).
