Robert Pattinson, Most Beautiful Man in the World, Claims He is Not a Beauty Buff

Photography Mikael Jansson

Robert Pattinson is highly recognized for his role in the international sensationTwilight as well as his upcoming role as the next Batman in Matt Reeves' take on the classic superhero. However, to his beloved, die-hard fans he might be most recognizable for his infectious smile. Though The Batman release has been officially postponed to 2021, Pattinson is keeping busy as the newest face of Dior Homme's cologne and the star of a recent advertising video directed by the directing duo, The Blaze, to the hypnotic notes of the late Leonard Cohen's, "Iʼm Your Man." We were able to sit with the iconic heart-throb to get a behind-the-scenes take on his career, why he loves face masks, and what's next for the 33-year-old actor.

L'Officiel: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Robert Pattinson: "Where do I see myself in ten years? Still here to give interviews and enjoy a job that, despite everything, is giving me a lot and that I continue to love madly."
 

L'O: When did you decide to become an actor?

RP: I actually never really thought about it. There was a girl I liked, she was part of the "drama club,"  so I was around fifteen and I was working backstage when I realized how magical everything behind the show was. I didn't go to school, I just decided to do what I like, and I like being in front of the camera, I like being in the theater, backstage, going out with my colleagues after the show. It was a natural process. It was not my life's dream, I did not pursue it persistently, I only did what I liked, and I did that well.

 

L'O: As a child, what career did you think you would pursue?

RP: When I was a teenager I imagined doing something in the field of music. I played the piano, my group and I lived in a restaurant and it seemed beautiful to me. I have to be honest, I've always had positive experiences. In my previous life, everything was probably pretty damn bad.

 

L'O: When did you realize you were famous and popular? How did you react to this?

RP: For some reason, I have never totally connected myself to being famous. I don't think it has changed me. "Twilight" was so fast, we always worked at a fast pace and, in a sense, I lived in isolation. I didn't have time to realize it, even when everything was over. I still remember after the premiere of "Harry Potter," the following day I was very excited, and the day after that it was as if nothing had happened.

 

L'O: According to recent research, you have been named the most beautiful man in the world.

RP: That's flattering, but it also makes me smile a lot. If I think about it, there are thousands of things that I don't like about myself and I am self-conscious of. To be honest, I'm realizing that as I get older, I pay less attention to physical appearance than I used to a few years ago. I think it can be a good thing to find parts of ourselves that we don't like in order to improve them.

L'O: What is the first memory you have of fashion? You mentioned that you are a collector of sneakers.

RP: I remember when I was about fourteen years old, none of my friends really thought about clothes. But, I put money aside for a red jacket that I liked and I said to myself, "I have to have this." I think it was from a Japanese designer, and I felt so fashionable, which was a feeling I had never experienced before. Before I was fourteen I had never thought about fashion and that red jacket was my right of passage, the moment I became aware of it. In my life I have had multiple stages. I bought a lot on eBay and little by little I became fond of sneakers. It was always the same model, focusing on details and every possible variation...I owned all the iterations of the same shoe. 

 

L'O: How would you define your personal style?

RP: It's strange because I spend a lot of time hiding it, in a way. I don't think it's a real style. I could not define it precisely; eccentric clothes certainly attract me a lot. However, in everyday life, I wear "normal " clothes without having a precise aesthetic.

 

L'O: How do you make your careers in the world of fashion and cinema coexist? You have been working on it for years, for example, with the Dior Homme cologne campaigns. 

RP: The thing that attracts me to cinema, especially in recent years, is the atmosphere of darkness. I like the contrast with the works I did for Dior, which are attractive in a more conventional sense.

 

L'O: The new Dior Homme perfume campaign is dedicated to a "strong" man. What does strength mean to you?

RP: I believe that strength is being able to listen, rather than saying everything we feel we have to say. Very often people want to demonstrate at all costs that they are perfect by placing themselves at the center of attention. Instead, you have to be patient and to be so, you have to be comfortable with yourself. Being strong also means being empathetic, without judging.

 

L'O: In a video directed by The Blaze, you dance and seem to have a lot of fun. Can you tell us more about that experience?

RP: It was incredibly fun. At one point I was taking dance steps behind the room and they yelled at me "ride!" and I, in the midst of the dancing, could not understand, so I asked "What are you saying?" and they replied "Fly!" It was very hilarious.

 

L'O: Do you consider yourself a beauty buff? What is your beauty routine?

RP: A beauty buff? No, I don't consider myself a beauty buff. For years, I did nothing except wash my face. Then, as I got older, I realized that I had to take care of my skin, I'm no longer twenty. One thing I love to do are face masks, like the ones people wear on planes to relax.

 

L'O: One last question about your career: who do you think was your film role model? Is there any role you dream of playing?

RP: Marlon Brando is an icon for me, I think nobody can match him. About my dream role, I must say that every character I played at the beginning seemed so strange, but it made me happy to give each of them life. And they made me who I am.

Text Giampietro Baudo
Collaboration by Alice Teso

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