Rob Pattinson talks Twilight, music, previous films

11/20/08 - "Twilight" mania swept the country when author Stephenie Meyer introduced her four-book series. Vampires have always been a staple of the horror genre, and by mixing horror with romance and targeting teenagers, Meyer picked the best combination and won the loyalty of millions. On Nov. 21, the movie adaptation will be showing all over the country.Rob Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen in the film, and the rest of the cast have been traveling to promote the movie. You might know him from his part as Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter series. He did a conference interview with college writers across the country, and this is what he had to say:

What was it like stepping into the role of Edward, a role that has so many pressures behind it because so many girls have built up what Edward's like in their minds? How did you deal with the pressures of doing that?

- I guess, just by ignoring it. I did awful in the audition because of that reason and I thought I had absolutely no chance of getting it at all. And then when I went to the screen test and personal casting, I just completely realized, well, I don't know if I realized how to play it. But I played it very differently. He wasn't as strong as he seems in the book.

I was thinking the book is written from Bella's perspective and this is a girl who's completely obsessed and in love with Edward so she sees him however she wants to see him and that doesn't correspond with reality.

How much research did you do into vampire mythology?

- I looked at a few vampire things. It's strange how people... the opinions on how vampires should be are ridiculous because there are so many vampire movies and other things. People are saying, "Well that's not what a vampire does." And just, guys, it's a fictional thing. They're not real. Edward's character has these mystical powers and I tried to look at them as him being sentenced with a disease.

Was it easy for you and Kristen to translate the romance from the book to the screen?

- There's always some kind of energy between actors. On the screen test, they said there was a powerful energy between us, which I really wasn't expecting. It's not even in terms of attraction. There's just some weird thing in the vibe and it had more to do, well, in my half, with fear of looking like an idiot. I tried to translate how I felt naturally into a context of a relationship. So it wasn't that hard.

I heard you did a lot of your stunt work for this film. What was it like working with wires and all that?

- It's really hard. I've done wire work before on Harry Potter but that was just getting hit. It's not very hard to act getting hit. But on this, I had to do a lot of agile and controlled movements. You need to keep the physics correct. You need to be very, very talented to do the wire work and it was also incredibly painful. All of your weight is just on two straps on your crotch, which is not the most pleasant experience. It's a hard experience.

I understand that you're a musician and you do a song for the movie soundtrack. Will you be thinking of going in the direction of a music career, just like with acting or maybe trying a little bit of both?

- Well, I have absolutely zero time to do anything big or actively pursue [anything]. I'd like to record an album at some point but I don't really care if anybody buys it or not. I'd like to have enough money for a big recording studio, good musicians and stuff. But I'm not really concerned. I don't want to be a successful musician.

You played Cedric Diggory in "Harry Potter" and now the vampire, Edward Cullen, in "Twilight." Is there anything that interests you in supernatural films or are you looking towards different areas and subject matter in other films you'll be making?

- Ah, yeah. It's just been completely random that I've gotten these supernatural jobs. I definitely want to venture into a normal person. Everything I've done has been some kind of curious thing or some kind of supernatural thing. And everything coming out seems to be really random so I want to be able to play a normal person in modern day.

How does playing Edward compare with playing Cedric Diggory or Salvador Dali in "How to Be?"

- It doesn't really compare at all. In "Harry Potter," I had no idea what I was doing. I've realized very recently how to look at scripts and how to discover and interpret characters. The jobs are satisfying in different ways.

Who are your influences as an actor?

- A lot of different people, really. When I was growing up I really liked Jack Nicholson, not in terms of acting, just in terms of being a person.

I think the most important thing about film acting is if you're an interesting person in reality, you'll come across as an interesting person in your on spot self. Any actor I really like, I mean, I'd like to spend time with them. I don't want to just watch their movies. I don't think there are any direct influences in acting. There are roles I liked but nothing direct. I like coming out of a movie and feeling whatever you just saw.

You're No. 23 in the Moviefone's Top 25 Hottest Actors. What do you think about that?

- Yeah, I don't really pay attention to that. My mom likes all that stuff. It either makes you too embarrassed if you look at it too carefully or it makes you bigheaded so I just don't look at it.

What kind of advice would you give to anyone wanting to pursue a career in acting or in music?

- Don't do it to be famous because you'll end up very depressed. Try and do good stuff. There are so many bad pieces of entertainment that are made just for making money. If you want to do it for honest reasons, then stay for those reasons. But if you want to do it for the money, then you'll have to face the consequences of that, too.