As actors see their notoriety grow it’s often natural for them to become less forthcoming with the media who helped hype them in the first place. Perhaps their responses are a bit more of the talking points variety. They might even appear to have turned strangely press-shy. Every once in a while, however, there is a star that seems to become even more comfortable under the celebrity spotlight as the year go by. Robert Pattinson likely falls into that latter category.
A decade on since the launch of the franchise that made him a household name, Pattinson appears to have come into his own and it’s not just the fact he’s spent six years concentrating on non-studio fare. I first noticed a slight change while speaking to him about the Safdie Brothers’ “Good Time” two year ago. Now, the 33-year-old is almost giddy when discussing his latest film, “The Lighthouse.” There is a frankness and genuine comfort in Pattinson that is slightly revelatory. Certainly for on the record conversations and that description is somewhat apt considering his performance in the Robert Eggers-directed drama.
Already one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year, “The Lighthouse” has also had a stellar box office run in just two weeks of limited release. Set in the 1800s, the film finds Pattinson playing a rookie lightkeeper with a mysterious past who is paired up with grizzled veteran, portrayed by Willem Dafoe, for a four-week tour on a remote island. As the weeks pass the two men’s personalities clash and Pattinson’s character begins to waver on the edge of insanity. The strength of their performances has both men in the mix for Academy Award nominations.
In the midst of the film’s theatrical release and a busy awards campaign, Pattinson is filming Christopher Nolan’s secretive “Tenet” in the Los Angeles area. In fact, our interview was delayed due to a longer than expected shoot day earlier in the week. Not only does Pattinson have that highly anticipated blockbuster on deck, but he’s venturing in the world of intense in-your-face fan bases once again after being cast as Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ upcoming “The Batman.”
READ MORE: The Essentials: Robert Pattinson’s 10 Best Performances
During our conversation Pattinson talked about the unique detail in the script, how the harsh environment informed his character, the success of “The Lighthouse” so far, the “rush” he’s expecting when encountering Batman fans at future Comic-Con events and more.
_____
The Playlist: I spoke to Willem last week told me that he was down for this movie after reading the first page. How many pages did it take you to get through the script and realize you wanted to do this?
Robert Pattinson: He was down from the first page?
That’s what he said.
I mean, I really liked it, but it took me a little while to figure out exactly. I mean, the different tones of the movie they’re so sort of discordant with each other. I was trying to figure out how is this going to work? With kind of sort of slapsticky comedy elements and then it’s got this pretty sort of serious ethnographic documentary about this guy’s working in a light house. But there are so many bits about just the different mechanics of how the light works and how the furnace works, the fog horn and all these different things. And then suddenly this like massive left turn at the end and just totally surrealistic terror. And it took me a little while to work my head round it, but then I was just thinking this is so strikingly original and it’s always fun to be part of [something like] that.
Does Robert put extreme detail in his script compared to other screenwriters?
Yeah, it’s like it was very, very detailed. I don’t know how you’d describe it. Like there are a lot of scenes in the script, which are [my character] pushing the wheel barrel across the island. And loading up coal and polishing the brass work. There’s a lot of polishing the brass work. [Laughs.] And there was something really interesting in the repetition of actions that really interesting to see in a script. But it’s very, very difficult to kind of see how that’s going to work in the context of actual movie. Like the scene when I’m arguing with Willem about his cooking. When you see me and Willem, our lines are just “what, what, what, what, what?” But that went on for like two pages. And so I’m thinking like, “Wait, are these just going to be close ups of each other? Like just cutting back and forth?” I mean, it’s pretty difficult to imagine really how that’s going to play. And there’s a version of this movie from that script which is like incredibly art house. And there is also a version where it’s just this sort of incredibly violent, brutal, primal movie, as well. And yeah, I should have already figured out, but it was probably going to be about halfway between the two.
Speaking of carrying wheelbarrows all across a fake island, I know you’ve made tough movies in the past in terms of working environment such as “The Lost City of Z.” In terms of the weather and the extremities, was this the most difficult of your career or is that just how it appears on screen?
No, I mean it’s pretty like rough weather and stuff on “The Lighthouse,” but I think when all of the scenes the characters are basically living in the same conditions which we were living in so it actually helps quite a bit. And also the costumes, we were dressing for those conditions and so it’s not like it wasn’t really a hindrance. It was in the script that it was this brutal weather all the times. So you were kind of psychologically prepared for it. And the same in “The Lost City of Z” as well. I keep saying this, I think everything, it makes it so much easier in a movie. Anything which requires you not to have to act it just makes it a lot more simple. And also there was something about the elements on this when me and Willem are the only people in it and we’re both just underneath this freezing cold rain machine just night after night after night. It’s a nice bonding situation.
I moderated a Q&A last night with Robert and Max [Eggers] and Robert kept saying that if he didn’t think you were wet enough he would take the hose and spray it on you. I mean, even if I was the most patient person and this was my job, if my director kept doing that, it might annoy me a bit.
I mean, it’s kind of fun. It’s like anything which is these extreme things to react to it allows for [a] more extreme performance and Roberts one of the only people I’ve ever worked with who never says… I’ve never done a movie like this where you were never told to tone it down, ever. It provokes a really kind of primal instinct in you when you’ve got a fire hose in your face and you’re kind of like, I don’t know, you really rage against it. It’s kind of fun.
Outside of “Good Time,” I think this is, for lack of a better word, the most “passionate” character you’ve had? It’s the most angry that I’ve seen you on screen ever, maybe? At least for more than one scene. When I asked Robert about that, he thought it was because no one has offered you a role like this before. Do you agree with him? Or do you feel like you found something in this film?
I mean it is a quite unusual role. There’s a couple of speeches at the end when there are two kind of key moments when the character is so drunk he can’t distinguish whether he is himself or the person that he’s talking to. I was like, “O.K., so that’s the level of drunk and it’s pretty high.” And then a few of the last scenes when he’s just really, really losing his mind and they were just so funny and sort of wild and you just knew that you could feel how much you needed to rev yourself up for it and I don’t know. I guess, yeah, I guess it’s just the part really. I mean there’s very few scenes where people, yeah, where people do like rage for a sustained period of time. But I think it’s one of the most fun things to play. I’ve always been sort of on the lookout for it, but it’s actually quite rare to find.
This movie is definitely rare, in many ways, but it’s exciting how well it’s doing at the box office. I don’t know if you’ve seen, but the numbers for the expansion are fantastic. Does that give you hope that in this era of blockbusters, these sorts of movies will keep getting made?
I think it’s incredible. I mean, I’ve done some weird movies. [Laughs.] And this is definitely [a] pretty weird movie and to see that there’s a hunger for it. And I mean it’s pretty, it’s great. And hopefully, it’s a harbinger of where things are going to go in the movie industry. I just always look at movies that are coming out. Like I was talking about this with [producer] David Crane about movies and things like “Existenz” and stuff like that. They could be an art-house movie that was also mainstream and that will be wonderful for me because that’s exactly the type of movies I want to make. But yeah, seeing people go to it and be excited about it? It’s sort of a strange kind of event movie, like a certain uber of people.
There is definitely an A24 fan base. They have created this brand in a way, because of the quality of their films. People get very excited for their movies.
Yeah, A24’s impact on the industry is unbelievable. I remember having conversations with everyone a few years ago when everyone was saying like mid-budget films for adults have just that’s it, it’s over, the industry’s over and that’s all on TV now. And like A24 came around a couple of years later and they have literally reopened that market and it’s not even the same market anymore. It’s like it’s something different. And they’re getting people to go back to the theaters again.
And they’re getting younger people to go to the theater, which is amazing.
Yeah. 100%
I also asked Robert last night when your character, Winslow, finally goes into the lighthouse and he looks into it whether he and Max knew what Winslow was looking at? And he goes, “Yeah, we do.” And I asked, “Do Willem and Robert know what Winslow and Willem’s character looking at?” And they just go, “No, they don’t.”
Because they’re looking at a light. [Laughs.]
Did you want to know?
Yeah, that doesn’t really matter. All you need to know is that [your character] wants it. You want it, you want it a lot. I remember there was sort of the description in the script, saying how it felt. It changed from something being so pleasurable, but it gets frightening – even though it’s actually incredibly difficult to shoot, because that set’s actually really small, and I barely fit inside it. And I had two guys holding my legs because I was about to fall down the ladder.[Laughs.]
I think this is one of the few times in your career where you been in production on a big movie while also trying to promote another movie and do awards season stuff, which is totally different than promoting a regular release. Is having “Tenet” be in L.A., being able to do these things on the weekends like talking to me, is it a nice sort of break from the day to day of shooting a Nolan movie or is it more overwhelming than it sounds?
It’s pretty overwhelming, but it’s great. I mean, I’m genuinely so pleased with how people have received this. I couldn’t really have imagined it going better. And it’s given me so much excitement about what other things will people be willing to make now and especially because it’s been making some money. And I hope that continues. And I’m trying to do as much promotion on it now as I can to get more people to kind of see it, but really just so there’ll be other stuff. I mean, I’d love it if people are doing these pretty experimental movies and then the distributors putting money to get them out there as well. I mean, it’s a wonderful situation to be in.
Listen, I know you’re nowhere near shooting “The Batman” and you’ve been asked tons of questions on that already. But I was in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con the first time that you and the “Twilight” cast came out. And I’ve never heard screaming like that before or since. I remember seeing you guys on stage and it was clearly overwhelming, it was a lot. And it would have been that way for anybody. And it sort of made me think, “Geez, I don’t think Kristen or Robert or any of these guys are ever going to want to go near an insane fan-friendly franchise like this again.” But you’re doing that, in a way with a “Batman” movie. What’s made you jump into the fray again? Is it the idea of being more comfortable with yourself and knowing how to deal with that? Because listen, they’re going to send you to Brazil or wherever and there’ll be 3,000 people or more in a room screaming in excitement. How do you see all that now, I guess, compared to back then?
I mean, all that stuff was kind of overwhelming, but it’s a rush doing that stuff. I remember I wasn’t expecting it at all that first time at Comic-Con. But it’s hilarious. I mean, you’re literally sitting there…It’s like being a bit like, I don’t know [being] some kind of evangelist or something. Some of the experiences I had with that, you’d never really experience anywhere else. I mean, I remember being in the Olympic stadium in Munich with 30,000 people, and I mean … I completely disassociate with it anyway. So, it doesn’t really affect my life or my mind that much anyway, but the only thing that concerns me is doing something which people like, really, until I start doing it. I mean, there is a very real chance I could get fired anyway. Early days. [Laughs.]
____
And, yeah, considering how he laughed when he said it we’re absolutely sure Pattinson is kidding about that last “Batman” note.
“The Lighthouse” is now playing nationwide.