Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson was born on May 13, 1986, and grew up in Barnes, Southwest London alongside two older sisters. Before he began his acting career, Pattinson first discovered his love of music and started learning piano and guitar at the young age of four. By his teens, he was performing his original songs for open mic nights in bars and pubs. However, Pattinson was still very shy, so his father encouraged him to join the local community theatre. After working backstage for two years, he auditioned for his first performance, in Guys and Dolls, and was actually cast as an ensemble Cuban dancer, for some reason. In his next play, Our Town, Pattinson scored the leading role and was picked up by a talent agent who attended one of his performances.
From there, he began auditioning for professional roles, leading to his breakthrough as a heartthrob in the Twilight films. His relationship with co-star Kristen Stewart was obsessively followed by fans and media pundits alike, frequently becoming top news of its time. Since then, Pattinson has matured greatly into someone great directors (Robert Eggers, Claire Denis, the Safdie brothers, Christopher Nolan, and more) yearn to work with. He's even been chosen as the next Batman in Matt Reeve's The Batman update, which has become the most anticipated film of the year. Here are his best films, so far.
8 The Twilight Saga
Whether or not you’re a fan of this movie series, The Twilight Saga undoubtedly belongs on this list, as Robert Pattinson is most known for his role as Edward Cullen. With his sparkling skin, glittering eyes, and suave hairdo, Edward Cullen charmed many teenage girls (including one Bella Swan) into falling under his spell. Robert Pattinson beat out 3,000 other actors to play Edward Cullen and it’s the role that launched Pattinson into stardom. Despite the saga not landing well with many movie critics, all five Twilight films (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn Part I and Part II) were all quite successful at the box office. Today, when the name Robert Pattinson comes to mind, many people still think of The Twilight Saga first.
7 Remember Me
In Remember Me, troubled and rebellious Tyler (Robert Pattinson), has a strained relationship with his father (Pierce Brosnan). Still suffering from the loss of his brother Michael who died by suicide years ago, Tyler thinks no one can understand his pain. Until he meets Ally (Emilie de Ravin), that is, who is suffering the loss of her mother due to a mugging turned fatal. Tyler and Ally start to fall in love and he begins to rediscover happiness again, though secrets emerge that could threaten their relationship. Pattinson does the angry-young-man thing better than most, and is genuinely melancholic in this small but good film.
6 High Life
High Life is the English-language debut film for famed French writer-director Claire Denis, and follows a group of criminals serving a death sentence who are deployed on a mission to extract alternative energy from a black hole in space. The crew is managed by the crazy Dr. Dibs who is on the ship for murdering her children and husband before attempting suicide, while Monte (Robert Pattinson) is sentenced for murdering a friend who killed his dog when he was younger. This is a deeply disturbing and despairing film, featuring triggering scenes of rape, murder, and suicide, but director Denis somehow finds the melancholic humanity in the film and in Pattinson's stoic performance.
5 The Lost City of Z
The Lost City of Z is based on the 2009 book by David Grann and written and directed by the great James Gray (Ad Astra, The Immigrant). This 2016 American biographical drama finds adventure following the real-life events of British explorer Percy Fawcett, who attempted to find the legendary titular lost city in the Amazon. Robert Pattinson plays his fellow explorer Henry Costin and is almost unrecognizable in his role both with his bearded looks and inspired personality, playing a reformed alcoholic who is genuinely passionate and excited about having something to hope for.
4 Water for Elephants
Based on a New York Times #1 best-selling novel by writer Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants tells the story of 23-year-old veterinary medicine student Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson). Amidst the Great Depression, Jacob jumps onto a passing circus train after the bank forecloses on his family home, where he meets Camel, an employee with the Benzini Bros. who introduces Jacob to ringmaster August. Soon, Jacob is caring for the circus animals and falling in love with Reese Witherspoon's interesting character, Marlena (who happens to be the ringmaster's wife). As Jacob continues to work for August, he learns of the man’s violent temper and nature toward the animals, prompting Pattinson to do some seriously empathetic and powerful acting.
3 The Lighthouse
This 2019 horror/drama is the newest Robert Pattinson film on this list. The Lighthouse follows lighthouse keepers Ephraim Winslow and Thomas Wake (played respectively by Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, who are mainly the only actors in the film) as they try to maintain their sanity while living on a mysterious and desolate New England Island in the 1890s. Will they work together or be each other’s destruction? This movie features stunningly gripping and raw performances by both actors, with Pattinson in particular locking into the insanity and paranoia of the picture. In addition, Robert Egger's films has been critically acclaimed, earning a rating of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and an audience score of 72%.
2 The Rover
The Rover is a heartbreaking Australian dystopian drama with shades of the Western genre. In the future, drifter Eric (Guy Pearce), wanders the land, but thieves steal his car and leave behind only one thing: the wounded Rey (Robert Pattinson). After Eric captures Reynolds, he forces him in a quest to hunt down the gang of men who stole the one thing that matters to him, his car. Pattinson's performance is desperate and intense in this bleak and consistently painful film, utilizing fascinating gestures and quirks to flesh out the character's distress.
1 Good Time
In Good Time, Robert Pattinson plays Constantine "Connie" Nikas, a bank robber who will do everything in his power to free his mentally disabled brother (played by one of the directors) from jail. In his quest to free his brother, Connie encounters the dark and dangerous underworld of New York. Pattinson is unbelievably good, relishing the manic energy which dominates the films of the Safdie brother (Uncut Gems). He is again almost unrecognizable both physically and characteristically, locating the beating heart within a scumbag character and completely guiding the film toward its tragic, inexorable conclusion. Good Time contains Robert Pattinson’s best film performance to date, at least until The Batman comes out.