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The actor became an international heartthrob with the 'Twilight' series. Why did he seem so unhappy?
Published : 30 Jan 2023, 06:30 PM
What is more important to an artist than an adoring audience? What better accolade can you get than the deafening chants of their own names from a loving crowd? But, what do real artists do if achieving this praise from others jeopardises their own sense of achievement and inner piece?
Robert Pattinson gained mainstream attention when he took on the role of heartthrob Edward Cullen in the Twilight movies. Almost instantly, he gained a worldwide following of doting fans. But he didn't enjoy working on the series. In many interviews from the time, it's clear that both he and his co-star Kristen Stewart were uncomfortable, both with their sudden fame and the perceived quality of those movies. In some interviews, Pattinson openly roasts the series. But while it's fun to watch a star be a bit hostile to his own project in YouTube compilations, there is a lesson to be learned too.
Twilight clashed with Pattinson's own sense of self. It could be the nature of the movies, which zoomed in on his appearance and let the rest of him fade away into the background. He was getting fame and fortune, but he wasn't satisfied. After the series ended, Pattinson began pottering about the sets of many indie movies searching for it. Perhaps the struggle to redefine himself in those films helped. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.
Maybe for him, the light at the end of the tunnel was the 2019 critical darling The Lighthouse. Both he and co-star Willem Dafoe were widely praised for their work. Maybe that gave him the courage to face a new morning and shake hands with Christopher Nolan on Tenet and return to more mainstream films. Then, last year, the silver screen was dazzled by Pattinson's portrayal of a sulky Batman with fey undertones. The redemption arc is complete. The world is in love with Robert Pattinson again, but this time, he seems happy too.
This kind of self-approbation isn't hubris. It's about someone finding happiness by working with their inner artist instead of against them. In one interview, Pattinson doted on Charles Bukowski's method of writing, which, he said, celebrates creation for one's self. To him, creating something solely for an audience verges on disrespect. After all, the audience consists of many people who are undoubtedly very different from each other. How can the artist know what each person in the crowd wants in such a situation? So, the act of artistic creation must be done to satiate the creator's needs first. Their audience might look away. They might even be angry. But, if the artist is true to their work, they can find a genuine connection with their audience.
I remember being amazed when I watched a video of Nirvana performing 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' on Top of the Pops. The TV producers told lead singer Kurt Cobain to sing over a pre-recorded backing track while bandmates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic merely pantomimed their instruments. In response, Nirvana ruthlessly sabotaged their own performance - lyrics and all, blind to any reaction from the crowd or the TV company. They stayed true to their artistic ideals.
Nowadays, the ease of access to content-sharing platforms has given charlatans opportunities to sell their knock-offs as true art. Anyone with a phone can call themselves a 'content creator'. The issue isn't what is being made, but why. Many people just seem to do it for fame and fortune. These marionettes blindly plead for approval from an impassive audience and keep regurgitating content for people to doomscroll past. When Addison Rae churns out something and calls it a song, the soul of Nina Simone cries.
The difference between artists and peddlers of petty content is this – the former grow and bloom for themselves while inviting others to share in the joy of that process. They don't turn away from their artistic sensibilities if they are not adequately appreciated. The latter perfume their shrivelled petals to attract attention and hungrily count the sniffers.
This article is part of Stripe, bdnews24.com's special publication focusing on culture and society from a youth perspective.
