I Feel You, Robert Pattinson | the GQ Cover Story
the photos in GQ’s cover story (shot by the cover star), are as trippy as the time we’re in. well done.
There’s quite a bit of hilarity and fuckery in GQ’s cover story with actor Robert Pattinson. I suggest you check it out for that alone. But it’s this part of I that connected with me the most. Here Robert recalls the feeling he had after doing great work that did not result in major studios fawning over him for hot-ticket roles:
excerpt from Zach Baron’s awesome GQ cover story
How many creatives are artistically fulfilled, financially stable, and “successful”/commercially viable? I often think about those ratios. Pattinson is in a blessed position; He was introduced to the world as a vampire in the teen pop movie trilogy Twilight and with the fans he got from that, he easily could have taken any huge role he desired. He could’ve starred as a member of The Avengers, or been the voice of a Pixar character, or played lead in a live-action adaption of a Disney classic. But he didn’t want to be that guy. Instead, Robert essentially ran from the limelight and made lo-fi critically-acclaimed films that the masses did not see. But he was happy with what he was making.
Sacrifices.
If you’ve read the piece I relaunched my site with last year, you know about what I’m doing now, what I did before and why. For that reason, I really love Robert’s journey to now—a few months away from his return to “big” movies. Covid-19 allowing, soon he’ll star in Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller Tenet. Next year he’ll be The Batman.
Sometimes you just want a hit. I trust that Nolan and Batman director Matt Reeves will provide openings to flex his acting chops in the midst of wild CGI explosions and a script inspired by comic book thought bubbles. Pattinson’s spent enough time honing his craft away from blockbusters that those skills will seep into them, like how Christian Bale and Heath Ledger made their Batman and Joker characters human.
It’s all about balance and opportunity. I’m looking forward to my moment, my version of a “return.” I feel like I’m in my indie/lo-fi phase, making stuff that’s earning me respect and that you may have missed. A documentary video series for my boy Theophilus London here. A fashion package for RSVP Gallery there. But I’m starting to get that feeling. A hit is coming.