I’ll admit — when I saw Robert Pattinson as a sexy, brooding vampire with a literally glittering torso in “Twilight” nearly 20 years ago, I did not think, “That guy’s gonna be one of the greats.”
Then again, surely nobody thought that of Sean Connery after seeing his biggest pre-007 movie, “Darby O’Gill and the Little People,” either. But he traded Disney’s leprechauns for a license to kill just three years later.
Pattinson’s walked a longer and more artsy road to glory than that of the Scotsman — though one that could ultimately arrive at the exact same destination. All of a sudden, he has emerged as one of the world’s most famous and popular actors.
And by the end of the year, Pattinson might very well be announced as the next James Bond.
This week, Puck News reported that not only did the 40-year-old Brit do a surprise screen test to play the iconic super spy, but he has the most favorable deal of all the contenders, which include Josh O’Connor, Jack Lowden and Callum Turner.
If cast, the others must sign on for four movies — the full Brosnan. Pattinson? Just three. And he’d get paid much more, too.
Those factors, Puck suggests, mean that Amazon and MGM want him more badly than Blofeld wants Bond.
How exactly did this proud weirdo become so in demand? It took a while.
Millennials, like me, got to know Pattinson back in the aughts as Edward Cullen in “Twilight” and Cedric Diggory in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” — humongous adaptations of humongous, culture-shaping novels. He is without question the most successful young actor to come out of the Potter franchise.
Then, keeping us on our toes, Pattinson’s career dangerously swerved from popcorn blockbusters to auteurs. He has a crazy resume of directors he’s worked with: Christopher Nolan, Werner Herzog, David Cronenberg, the Safdies, Bong Joon Ho, Brady Corbet pre-“Brutalist” and Robert Eggers, among others.
The man is magnetically attracted to bold oddities. For instance, he voiced the title bird in Hayao Miyazaki’s animated “The Boy and the Heron” as a chain-smoking throwback to Gilbert Gottfried. You’d never know it was him.
Those artistic projects — in which he often completely transforms his voice and personality — endeared the Brit to audiences. Particularly younger ones. The actor regularly takes big swings in his choice of roles and his livewire performances.
His most rabid fans of all might be Gen Z, who have turned into insatiable cinephiles thanks in part to the social media platform Letterboxd. They are the largest moviegoing demographic today, and they follow him wherever he goes.
During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Pattinson actually nodded to his appeal to people half his age with his own “Ich bin ein Berliner” moment.
“I am Gen Z,” he said.
Of course, man can’t live on Z alone, and mainstream viewers have gotten to know him better as Bruce Wayne in 2022’s “The Batman,” a noir take on the dark knight. He’ll star in the sequel next year.
Pattinson’s snowballing fame and arthouse vibe finally merged this year with an extraordinary run of risky hits that dominated the conversation.
The shocking wedding jitters film “The Drama,” co-starring Zendaya, grossed $134 million. And of course, he played the villainous suitor Antinous in “The Odyssey,” which has so far taken in $1.8 billion and is headed back to theaters to juice its Oscar chances.
He even made a $62 million success out of “Primetime,” a psychological thriller of sorts from the co-director of “You Can See Everything” in which he took on the role of “To Catch A Predator” host Chris Hansen. See? Biiiig swings.
And then next month comes the likely massive “Dune: Part III,” in which, funnily enough, Pattinson plays a spy.
Funnier still, “Dune” is directed by Denis Villeneuve, the man who will helm the 26th Bond film.
It’s all adding up.
But Pattinson’s high profile would seem to disqualify him from wearing the 007 tux — particularly his major credit as Batman. Bond actors are often lesser known at the start of their tenure. That’s the way I tend to prefer it.
And rumor had it that the filmmakers wanted to skew younger for the reboot. Pattinson is two years older than Daniel Craig was in “Casino Royale.”
Yet, unlike his competitors, when Pattinson’s name was floated it felt right.
In his personal life, he’s refreshingly enigmatic. As much as he’s worked, we still don’t know that much about him.
And his strangeness is an asset, because what unites every Bond — other than catchphrases, cars and clothes — is that they’re undeniably distinctive and instantly memorable in their own way. Pattinson’s got that magic.
And as for the Batman thing, you only live twice.
Whatever happens, of this I am dead certain: We’re living in Robert Pattinson’s prime time.
