In partnership with Warner Bros. UK
There are many Robert Pattinsons, as we shall see. As one of the finest actors of his generation – any generation, perhaps – the man has range. Since breaking out with Twilight in 2008, he’s made some of the most weird and wonderful movies to grace the cinema screen, favouring oddball indie flicks or bonkers big-budget masterworks that push the envelope of what Hollywood is capable of.
Step forward, then, Mickey 17, acclaimed director Bong Joon-ho’s hotly anticipated new film after 2019’s Oscar-winning Parasite. Set in space, the movie sees Rob play Mickey, a man who unwisely agrees to become an ‘expendable’, which means he’s ‘printed’ out repeatedly to be killed in the name of medical science.
It’s the kind of outlandish concept that might send many a leading man running for the latest romcom, but it’s not the first time Pattinson’s tried something new. Here are all the Robs we can think of (so far!).
Emo Rob
Last seen in: The Batman (2022)
He loves Nirvana and smudged eyeliner, beats up bad guys as a kind of therapy and is most at home loitering in his own gothic den (read: Batcave). When Rob played the Caped Crusader in 2022’s sprawling The Batman, he reimagined the superhero as a kind of rockstar recluse nursing his obsessive desire to avenge his late parents. You know he’s cool because Nirvana’s ‘Something in the Way’ features on the soundtrack. “The truth is that he is a kind of drug addict,” director Matt Reeves told Esquire. “His drug is his addiction to this drive for revenge. He’s like a Batman Kurt Cobain.”
Find him hanging out at the back of the record shop, flipping through obscure early ‘90s grunge records “you’ve probably never heard of”.
Heartthrob Rob
Last seen in: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012)
Well, this is pretty much every Robert Pattinson movie, isn’t it? But he’s perhaps never sent more young hearts a-fluttering than he did in the Twilight franchise, when he played dishy, sensitive vampire Edward Cullen (read also: doomed boy-wizard Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire). Bella (Kristen Stewart), the object of Edward’s affection, wasn’t the only one swooning over his mysterious allure; the trilogy made a bonafide celeb of Pattinson, who was widely nicknamed R-Patz (remember that?) at the time.
There was a bit of crossover with Emo Rob, come to think of it, what with his bedhead, tortured demeanour and the fact that Radiohead’s ’15 Step’ featured on Twilight’s end credits. You can always rely on Rob for a banging soundtrack.
Preacher Rob
Last seen in: The Devil All The Time (2020)
The pitch-black Southern Gothic drama The Devil All the Time might have received mixed reviews (we were fans at NME, mind, concluding that it’s “so gripping that it’s very hard to look away”) but no-one could quibble with Rob’s wild turn as twisted preacher Reverend Preston Teagardin. In one unforgettable scene, clad in a natty powder blue suit and ruffled shirt, he addressed the awestruck congregation in an impressive Southern drawl, embarrassing one poor woman for bringing lowly chicken livers to the communal meal. That was just a hint at the evil that lay beneath his holier-than-thou demeanour.
The character was so over-the-top that he might have seemed laughable. In Rob’s hands, he was so creepy it still keeps us up at night.
Romantic Rob
Last seen in: Remember Me (2010)
At the other end of the spectrum, Rob Pattinson’s early career was defined by roles in mushy romantic movies. He soon pivoted to more unusual, independent fare, which has kept audiences on their toes ever since. Yet we’ve a certain soft spot for Romantic Rob. Because he doesn’t look like your bang-average, square-jawed leading man, there was still something offbeat about his appearance in even the most straight-up Hollywood flick.
And now that we’re more accustomed to seeing him in the wildly inventive likes of Mickey 17, there’s something strangely nostalgic about remembering this forgotten period in his career. A simpler time.
Mustachioed Rob
Last seen in: The Lighthouse (2019)
Hey, Rob! Tom Selleck called: he wants his thigh buffer back. Yes, Robert Eggars’ black-and-white arthouse drama The Lighthouse was a surrealist masterpiece that pitted Pattison against another bold and brilliant actor in Willem Dafoe… but can we take a moment to discuss Rob’s ‘tache in the film, please? The rugged stubble, the walrus-like handlebars… it’s almost as much a work of art as the flick itself.
He looks like exactly the kind of dude who’d make a deranged speech about how much he loves steak, as Rob does in the movie: “I want a goddamn steak! If I had a steak? Oh, boy… A rare – a bloody steak!” Get that man a hunk of meat but don’t ever pass the beard trimmer.
Doppelgänger Rob
Last seen in: nothing! Stay tuned for Mickey 17…
Rob, who brought surreal humour to his role in The Lighthouse and belly laughs to 2008 indie flick How To Be, lends gentle comedy to the main character in Mickey 17. There are strong shades of tragedy, too, as Mickey valiantly prepares to face death once more. But it’s his indefatigable spirit and general air of innocence and optimism that make him such a compelling figure; it’s part of the reason the movie is such a blast. No wonder pilot Nasha Adjaya (Naomi Ackie) is soon smitten with him and becomes his champion, protector and space-age soulmate.
But what if, due to a mistake, there were two Mickeys? Ah, now that would really throw a spanner in the airlock…
’Mickey 17’ is released in UK cinemas March 7