INTERVIEW: Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson first attracted lots of attention when he played Cedric Diggory in two 'Harry Potter' movies. But it was his breakout role in 'Twilight' that propelled him to super-stardom.

Full Name: Robert Thomas Pattinson     

Date of Birth: May 13, 1986     

Hometown: London, England     

What is the best thing about your job? I don't know what it was in the beginning. My first job I was playing Reese Witherspoon's son and I hadn't done any acting in school. I wasn't in a drama school or anything. You turn up on set and I'd done one amateur play and you kind of end up doing a film with Reese Witherspoon and you have a trailer and stuff. It was the most ridiculous thing. And I was thinking, I should be an actor. I'm doing a movie with Reese Witherspoon. How is this happening? I don't know what I was thinking then. I never really thought about for the audience. It's an excuse, it's the one job where you can do whatever you want and people have got to accept it. If you went in an office and said I need to punch out some windows to do this database (laughs), you'd get fired. But you get a lot of slack as an actor. You can just go nuts all the time.

If you had three hours of free time right now, what would you do with them? Go to sleep.

Who do you look up to in the business? I aspire to be Jack Nicholson. I love every single mannerism. I used to try and be him in virtually everything I did, I don't know why. I watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest when I was about 13, and I dressed like him. I tried to do his accent. I did everything like him. I think it's kind of stuck with me.

What would people be surprised to know about you? I'm really afraid of getting hit by cars, like terrified of it. I'm terrified of crossing streets. I'm also very accident-prone...I think people aim for me.

Anything you would change about yourself? ... I hate my name. I hate any reference to my name. I wish people would completely invent a new one.

FAVORITES
Favorite Actor: Jack Nicholson
Favorite Singer: Van Morrison, Kings of Leon and Laura Marling
Favorite Sports: Football, skiing and snowboarding
Favorite Movie: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest