Rob's Interview with F Magazine (Greece)

"I think I've gone crazy."

He wasn't looking for the easy way... A role that was more like a trap and his progress as an actor is very different from the usual. He is also unbereably good looking!!! Eyes, smile, hair and a talent that makes an effort to be revealed, but I know for sure that it exists!!!! LIFE will be his next movie in which he’ll prove it. Stop doing what you are doing and pay attention: Robert Pattinson talks…

Question: "You have to know that there are similarities between James Dean’s life and yours."
Rob: "For me the story of James Dean and of Dennis Stock are two completely different stories. The story of James Dean, maybe because I’ve lived it up to a certain point, doesn’t particularly interest me. From the very beginning I identified more with the character of Dennis Stock."

Question: "How do you see James Dean? Were you inspired by him?"
Rob: "Almost all actors go through a phase that they have an obsession with James Dean. His movies had a huge influence. Some things are exaggerated, but that has to do with the fact that he had just started. You can see his fearless experimentations. Some of his movements are very gentle, like ballet movements, and others are blatantly strong. I’ve seen a lot of his photos and it’s interesting that he never took a bad picture. This doesn’t have to do just with his face. He always knew how to stand in front of the camera. In 1955 people were not constantly photographed and he wasn’t that famous yet, but he just knew that his face took good pictures. He was very good in controlling that."

Question: "How is it to be photographed? Do you like it?"
Rob: "I’m very bad at that. There was a time when the first Twilight movie was released, I wanted to show a certain profile. When you can control it it’s fine, but when they photograph you all the time, you lose control. Suddenly you are afraid and you become an introvert. At the moment I’m in that phase “Don’t take any pictures of me!”

Question: "How was it to work together with Dane DeHaan?"
Rob: "I would not have participated in the movie if they hadn't found the right person to portray James Dean. When I found out it was Dane, I wanted to do the movie, because I like him and also I seldom have the chance to play with someone my own age. His role is hard. Especially with the make-up and the wig. He even had fake ear-lobes. It was crazy! But he’s a nice guy. In reality the relationship between James Dean and Dennis Stock was very weird. They were so different but so are Dane and I, but eventually we got along really well."

Question: "Is there a place in the world or some people in your life with who you can be yourself, who are a stable basis for you?"
Rob: "I only experience this with my friends and family. It’s impossible for me to find a stable place when I move around eight months a year. I had my house in Los Angeles, from where I moved recently, for two years and I didn't even furnish it."

Question: "Did you ever have a close relationship with a photographer or reporter like Dean had?"
Rob: "Not with a photographer. When Twilight just had been released there were some reporters I had a good relationship with. There was an editor of ‘Entertainment Weekly’ who took my first interview and it was very good, because I really liked him. We went out together to a bar and became drunk; for sure not something I would do now. When you have already given enough interviews an editor can push you in different ways to get some news out of you that is bad for you."

Question: "Do you miss that you can’t go to a bar to relax?"
Rob: "Also that has to do with the image you want to show to the public. When you feel so much pressure, you understand that the public doesn’t care about something different. Everything drives them crazy. You say something and the reaction to anything I do is massive."

Question: "How do you feel when your personal life is projected like a soap-opera?"
Rob: "It’s weird. Although I have made huge efforts not to talk about my personal life it made no difference. They just made various things up. When you are part of a story, an article someone else writes you can’t do anything about it. Even when they don’t take photos of you, they simply use old photos. Last year I was thinking about the fact that they didn't take any photos anymore, so they wouldn't write stories about me anymore, because the public wouldn't be interested in an article without a photograph."

Question: "Dennis Stock made a lot of sacrifices in his personal life for his career. Would you do that?"
Rob: "I don’t know, but I think that Dennis Stock pretended that he had sacrificed a lot. But what happened is that he himself was scared that he was not such a good artist as he thought he was. So he was looking for excuses. The first thing that attracted to me in the script was that it’s about a father who didn’t want his child. He’s a tragic character."

Question: "Did you like to go back to the 50’s? Is it an era you wished to have lived in?"
Rob: "I’m not really a 50’s type of person. I wouldn’t have had a problem with the 60’s. I’m not very good in denying myself things and that was what the 50’s were about. An era with restraints."

Question: "So you would also have gotten into an argument with the director of the studio like James Dean did?"
Rob: "Yes, but probably I would have said something like “I’m not a rebel, I didn't understand, please… “

Question: "So you'd like the self-indulgent era of the 80’s more?"
Rob: "No, no. Neither that era fits me. I’m very lazy for that kind of lifestyle."

Question: "Have you ever used disguises?"
Rob: "The last two weeks I said that I won’t wear a cap and use disguises anymore, because it can really drive you crazy when you always dress with the purpose of hiding yourself; that influences you psychologically. I understood that the last few weeks and I’m going to take care of it."

Question: "So it’s better to face the paparazzi?"
Rob: "To be honest, the paparazzi are not really the problem. I remember that for years I was afraid. People look at you all the time, you feel that they judge you and that is probably what they do. You shouldn’t check what they say about you on the internet. That is the worst thing of all."

Question: "Have you done that?"
Rob: "Anyone would do that. It’s the worst habit. If for example they talk about you in the room next to you, you’d probably try to listen to what they are saying. And in the end you’ll wind up not leaving your room anymore and surf the internet. I think you have to do this to remind yourself who you are because in the end you live in another weird reality, you live in hotel rooms all the time and you become more or less a hermit…"

Question: "Do you not have anyone with you? Friend or family?"
Rob: "Yes, some take their friends and family with them. My friends and family have their jobs. But I wouldn’t want them with me anyway. It’s a sure way to destroy a friendship. It’s like you say to your friend: “Come and be my assistant!”

Question: "And how did you stay psychologically sane?"
Rob: "I think I have gone crazy…." (laughs)

Question: "How many similar proposals did you get after Twilight and how important was it for you to play other roles?"
Rob: "After Twilight I only did things that interested me. The last 8 years there were only 2-3 scripts that I liked and in the end I didn't get the roles. But it was not that I was trying to move into a certain direction. It just happened!"

Question: "What is the most important life lesson that you got the last few years?"
Rob: "Someone asked me what advice I would give to the younger me. I don’t know. If you say to yourself “don’t worry about this or that”, it’s sure that you would always worry about something else. We need that fear. I prefer to be someone who has to confront his many fears instead of someone who has the illusion he doesn't fear anything. I like to take hurdles, as small as they might be."

Question: "What are you afraid of?"
Rob: "Everything (laughs). Even walking in the street."

Translation by: In the Footsteps of Robert Pattinson (with special thanks to Foteini Logari)