Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor and producer. He is known for starring in both major studio productions and independent films, in which he often portrays eccentric characters across a diverse range of genres. Pattinson has been included on yearly lists of the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, Time included him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and he was also featured in the Forbes Celebrity 100.
Born and raised in London, Pattinson started acting at the age of 13 in a London theatre club. He made early screen appearances in supporting roles, including in Vanity Fair (2004) and as Cedric Diggory in the fantasy film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), before achieving global recognition as Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga film series. Pattinson also led the romantic dramas Remember Me (2010) and Water for Elephants (2011).
Pattinson subsequently began working in independent films from auteur directors. He received praise for his performances in David Cronenberg's drama Cosmopolis (2012), James Gray's adventure drama The Lost City of Z (2016), the Safdie brothers' crime drama Good Time (2017), Claire Denis' science fiction drama High Life (2018), Robert Eggers' psychological horror The Lighthouse (2019) and Lance Oppenheim's crime thriller Primetime (2026). In the 2020s, Pattinson returned to big-budget mainstream cinema with starring roles in Christopher Nolan's action films Tenet (2020) and The Odyssey (2026), Matt Reeves's superhero film The Batman (2022), and Bong Joon Ho's dark comedy Mickey 17 (2025).
Pattinson is the founder of the production company Icki Eneo Arlo, through which he forayed into different film and stage productions. He has also contributed vocals to several film soundtracks. He is involved in philanthropy, supporting organisations such as the GO Campaign. Pattinson began modelling as a child and has served as the face of Dior Homme fragrance since 2013. Labelled as a sex symbol by the media, he is frequently named one of the most attractive actors; People included Pattinson on its list of the "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2008 and 2009. He has been in a relationship with singer and actress Suki Waterhouse since 2018, with whom he has a child.
Early life
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson was born on 13 May 1986 in the Barnes district of London, England. His father, Richard, owned a business importing vehicles from the United States, while his mother, Clare, worked at a modelling agency. Pattinson has two older sisters, Victoria and Elizabeth. At the age of four, he began attending Tower House Boys' Preparatory School and developed an interest in playing piano and guitar. By the age of six, Pattinson was participating in amateur performances. He secured his first role in a play titled Spell for a Rhyme, written by one of his teachers, and later appeared in his school's adaptation of William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies (1954).
As a child, Pattinson was disorganised, resistant to completing homework, and exhibited a lackadaisical attitude. His sisters often dressed him up as a girl, creating a female persona they named Claudia. In his leisure time, he enjoyed playing football, video games, and watching television shows such as Sharky and George, Doctor Who and Hammerman. Later his parents enrolled him at the Harrodian School, on Lonsdale Road near the family home. Pattinson excelled in English studies, which he described as his favourite subject. As a teenager, he worked as a photo model for British fashion brands and magazines and as a fashion designer. In his late teens, he pursued music by performing acoustic guitar sets at open mic nights in pubs around London. He sang original compositions either solo under the stage name Bobby Dupea or with his band, Bad Girls.
Pattinson initially considered a career in music or studying speechwriting at university but never thought about pursuing acting. A teacher once advised him against joining the school drama club, believing he was not suited for the creative arts. At the age of thirteen, Pattinson joined the Barnes Theatre Company, a local amateur theatre group, after his father encouraged him to participate to help overcome his shyness. After working backstage, he auditioned for the play Guys and Dolls and secured his first role as a Cuban dancer with no lines. In the following production, Our Town, he played the lead role of George Gibbs. During this performance, a talent agent in the audience noticed him, leading Pattinson to begin pursuing professional acting opportunities. He went on to appear in stage productions such as Macbeth, Anything Goes and Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Pattinson initially intended to go to university, but filming for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire conflicted with his schedule. Around this time, he shared a flat in Soho with his childhood friend and fellow actor Tom Sturridge.
Career 2004–2007: Beginnings Pattinson's first film role was in Mira Nair's 2004 costume drama film Vanity Fair—an adaptation of a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray—in which he portrayed the son of Becky Sharp. However, his scenes were deleted from the final cut and are only available in the DVD version of the film. Reflecting on the experience, Pattinson stated, "My first job I was playing Reese Witherspoon's son and I hadn't done any acting in school. I wasn't in a drama school or anything. I'd done one amateur play and you end up doing a film with Reese Witherspoon". That year, Pattinson had a more prominent role in the television film Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King alongside Max Von Sydow and Julian Sands. Directed by Uli Edel, the film follows Siegfried (played by Benno Furmann), a young blacksmith who slays a dragon and falls in love with Queen Brunhild (played by Kristanna Loken). Pattinson portrays Giselher, the younger brother of King Gunther and Princess Kriemhild, who looks up to Siegfried as a demigod.
In 2005, Pattinson was cast as Cedric Diggory in the fantasy film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, directed by Mike Newell. According to Newell, "Cedric exemplifie[d] all that you would expect the Hogwarts champion to be. Robert[...] was born to play the role; he's quintessentially English with chiselled public schoolboy good looks". Pattinson learned to scuba dive in preparation for the role. For his performance, he was named the 2005 "British Star of Tomorrow" by The Times and was also referred to as "the next Jude Law". The film grossed nearly $897million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2005.
In 2006, Pattinson starred in Chris Durlacher's The Haunted Airman, a psychological thriller that aired on BBC Four on 31 October. He played a World War II pilot who is shot, left paralysed and suffers from severe shell shock, eventually descending into madness. Pattinson himself described the role as his "best acting experience". His performance received positive reviews, with The Stage saying that he portrayed "the airman of the title with a perfect combination of youthful terror and world-weary cynicism". Pattinson then appeared in a supporting role as Daniel in the 2007 film The Bad Mother's Handbook, a one-off television drama adapted from a novel by Kate Long. In the film, he portrayed a shy young man who develops feelings for a girl struggling with issues after being dumped by her former boyfriend and experiencing difficulties with her mother.
2008–2013: The Twilight Saga and worldwide recognition
In 2008, Pattinson played his first leading role as Art in the film How to Be, directed by Oliver Irving. In the film, Art, after being dumped by his girlfriend, moves back in with his parents and convinces a Canadian self-help guru to relocate to London to help him rebuild his life. Irving recalled Pattinson's audition, saying, "Robert walked in[,]forgot his lines and just started improvising, which was exactly what I wanted [...] he's a really down-to-earth guy". Pattinson himself enjoyed filming the movie, stating that he "loved the script" and found it "very different from everything else [he] had read". That same year, Pattinson portrayed Salvador Dalí in Little Ashes (2008). He was originally considered for the role of Federico García Lorca, Dalí's lover, but the part ultimately went to Javier Beltrán. The film mostly received negative reviews; the Toronto Stars Greg Quill stated that "even cinematographer Adam Suschitzky's richly textured and resonantly toned cityscapes and rural scenes can't make up for a flawed script and weak performances in what might have been a powerful historical drama".
In 2008, Pattinson starred alongside Kristen Stewart as Edward Cullen in the romantic fantasy Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer's 2005 novel of the same name. Approximately three thousand men submitted resumes for the role of Cullen, many of whom auditioned. Director Catherine Hardwicke said that Pattinson had "everything [they] needed [...] that angular face and kind of mysterious Edward aura". According to Pattinson, his performance in the film was largely influenced by Stewart's. He adopted an American accent for the role and wore contact lenses. In the film, Bella, portrayed by Stewart, faces danger from James, a vampire determined to kill her and drink her blood, leading Cullen—Bella's vampire lover—to become embroiled in a battle with James. While the film received mixed reviews, critics widely praised Pattinson's chemistry with Stewart. The New York Timess Manohla Dargis described Pattinson as a "capable and exotically beautiful" actor, while Roger Ebert believed he was "well-chosen" for the role.
Pattinson presented at the 81st Academy Awards in February 2009; he was initially set to appear with Stewart, who declined. He played Richard in Daisy Gili's film The Summer House (2009). The story follows Richard, Jane's (played by Talulah Riley) ex-boyfriend, as he travels to France to try to win back her love after cheating on her. The short film was later re-released as part of an anthology titled Love & Distrust (2010), which features five short films exploring the lives of eight individuals from different backgrounds on their journey to find contentment. Revolver Entertainment released Robsessed (2009), a documentary about Pattinson's life and rise to fame. Pattinson reprised his role as Cullen in the Twilight sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which was released in November 2009. The film grossed a record-breaking $142.8million in its opening weekend and earned a total of $711million worldwide, making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2009. Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic mentioned that "Pattinson's actually not in the film that much, but he does his best when he's around", while The Washington Posts Michael O'Sullivan praised his acting as "uniformly strong". The film earned Pattinson three MTV Movie Awards at the 2010 ceremony.