Robert Pattinson won the hearts of millions of fans with his role as Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga. In the trilogy, the actor played the role of a vampire who falls in love with Kristen Stewart’s character. The films were box office blockbusters, and Pattinson became famous for his character. However, it became an issue for the star as he had to work hard to break that image and be recognized as a distinguished performer.
He has played a variety of roles after The Twilight Saga, however, only a handful of them have managed to make a massive impact. One of the most challenging roles was in Robert Eggers’ film The Lighthouse.
Robert Pattinson earned the reputation of Madman for The Lighthouse role
For the historical horror film, Robert Pattinson crossed all limits physically and mentally to attain perfection. The actor had to put up with misery for the character. He had to do intense training to portray Winslow. He would wander on the streets, whispering the lines to himself repeatedly for the correct accent. He dedicated himself to the character very intensely.
Robert Pattinson had to portray the character of a man slowly unraveling as he is going crazy and drinks kerosene. In the scenes, he had to act drunk on kerosene, he said that he was basically unconscious the whole time. The actor would make himself vomit, stumble, and even urinate in his trousers.
To add to his discomfort, Robert Pattinson had put rocks in one of his shoes. Before the take, he would spin in circles to portray dizziness from being drunk.
Willem Dafoe was annoyed by Robert Pattinson’s actions
In one scene, Robert Pattinson was leaning on Willem Dafoe, and they were kind of slow-dancing together. He started making himself gag, hence Eggers was forced to yell Cut.
Pattinson recalled in conversation with Esquire, saying:
“There’s a scene where Willem’s kind of sleeping on me and we’re really, really drunk, and I felt like we’re completely lost in the scene, and I’m sitting there trying to make myself gag and Robert [Eggers] told me off because Willem’s looking at him going: ‘If he throws up on me, I’m leaving the set.’ I had absolutely no idea this whole drama was unfolding.”
The Batman star had thrown himself entirely into the character for the film. On the sets, he could be as wild and intense as he wanted, and it allowed him to improvise his character. He shared,
“It’s like being an adrenaline junkie. When you don’t know how to do something, why not just run headfirst into a wall? See what happens. I haven’t got any other ideas.”
The Lighthouse was released in 2019 and received widespread critical acclaim. It was praised for the direction, visuals, and remarkable performances of Dafoe and Pattinson.
Source- Esquire
