Robert Pattinson burst on to the scenes with Twilight, and he is still thankful to the film that provided a steady ground to him. Here he talks about the hand girlfriend Suki Waterhouse had in his multiple roles in the new film Mickey 17, and how the sci-fi film helped him tick something off his bucket list. The 38-year-old Batman star—the film that showed a completely different Pattinson and Batman—reveals how he managed to play 17 versions of the same character and which was his favourite. From a vampire to Batman, to big blockbusters and art house movies, he has done it all.
What made you want to be part of this project?
Firstly, it was knowing this is a Bong Joon-ho film. He has been on my bucket list of directors I would love to work with for as long as I can remember. I have been watching and loving his films since I was a kid so when this came to me, I was immediately very excited. And then I read the script and really just loved it. It’s a deceptively simple and very funny story at first about a guy who has basically failed at everything but then when you think about the mentality of this character and the situation he puts himself in, it becomes very complex and a very complicated and interesting story.
Were you at all apprehensive playing multiple versions of the same character?
A little. It was a little overwhelming at first but then that’s nothing unusual for me. I’m easily overwhelmed.
Is it true that you partly based your performance as Mickey on your dog?
I based him on a few different things but, yes, one of them was a very badly behaved dog I used to have who, no matter how much you trained him or tried to stop his bad habits, just wouldn’t learn. You could tell it off for doing something like going to the bathroom in the house but it would just roll over onto its back and not care. That’s what Mickey is like to me. He lives, he dies, he comes back but he doesn’t learn his lesson until he finally realises 17 deaths later.
Mickey has a very distinctive accent too. Where did that come from?
From the moment I first read the script, I had this idea for the voice and what Mickey might sound like. It was actually more of an extreme version of what it is in the film at first. I tried it out, reading a few lines to my girlfriend and then it just kind of developed from there. I remember the first time doing it on set in front of all the cast and crew and every single person just stared at me. I was like, ‘Hmm, maybe this isn’t the best idea after all’ Bong described it as like nails on a chalkboard so it changed a little from there.
Your character is alone for the majority of the film. How challenging is that as an actor?
It’s pretty challenging and strange because most actors are used to working with someone else in a scene. I really just had to rely on Bong to tell me what worked and what didn’t.
Do you have a favourite scene from the film?
The scene when Mickey is talking to the alien was a lot of fun to shoot. Bong made up this whole language for the alien which was pretty challenging. It’s one of those scene that could have turned out to be really embarrassing but it’s actually one of the funniest moments in the film. I had to learn this whole made-up alien language phonetically which was pretty strange but a lot of fun.
Was getting to work with Bong everything you had hoped for?
Absolutely. He is such a brilliant director to work with and just a wonderful person to spend time with. He’s so talented and funny. He not only lived up to everything I hoped he would be, he surpassed it.
What do you hope audiences take away from watching Mickey 17?
First of all, I don’t think anyone has seen a film quite like this before. It’s funny, it’s strange and it’s brilliant. It’s also a film that makes you think, as Bong’s films so often do. It has something to say about society and the class system. Mickey is an everyman character. He’s not a hero, he doesn’t have big plans. He really just wants to be happy, to work, to have a girlfriend. Mickey is someone who really doesn’t have any expectations in life yet people still keep pushing him lower and lower. It’s interesting to see someone having to fight for such basic goals like that. It’s a brilliant Bong Joon-ho kind of movie. It’s very unique and different.
It’s almost 20 years since you first landed the role of Edward Cullen in Twilight. How do you look back on that time?
Extremely fondly. I had such a great time and a great experience playing that character and making those films. I wouldn’t be able to do films like this now if not for Twilight. It’s been such a strange ride. My entire life has been a roller coaster. I don’t regret anything at all because Twilight meant I got to talk to people I wanted to work with because they don’t just hire you for the wrong reasons.
Finally, of all the Mickeys you played in this film, which one is your favourite? Mickey 17.
He’s such an indecisive wimp. He’s a misprint of a clone with all kinds of issues. Yeah, he made the most sense to me. He was definitely the most fun to play.