Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Robert Pattinson

Episode Date: December 1, 2019

Robert Pattinson rocketed to fame in the movie “Twilight” and the four sequels that followed, earning an army of devoted fans and a constant pack of paparazzi prying into his personal life. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the actor about being thrust into that spotlight, the awards season buzz around his new film “The Lighthouse,” and how he’s preparing to take on the iconic role of Batman. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. My guest this week, Robert Pattinson, he wants of Twilight Heartbrob fame. And now the star of a new film that's getting a lot of Oscar buzz called The Lighthouse. A very interesting movie. And I will explain why in just a minute. Joining me as always, the producer of this fine podcast, Maggie Law. Hello, Maggie.

Hi, Willie. And the producer of the Robert Pattinson interview for Sunday. day today, Sylvie Haller. Hey, Sylvie, how are you? I'm good. Thanks for having So we should Sylvie attempt to explain this movie. Robert Pattinson and Willem Defoe. It's basically just the two of them for almost two hours. There's one other actor who pops in, but it's mostly the two of them. It's set in the 1890s in Halifax. They're on a lighthouse on an island together. But importantly, the film is in black and white. And also, it's in a, the easy way to explain it is it's kind of shrunken down into a box.

With like a vintage look. A vintage look. It gives you that old-fashioned film look. Yeah, how would you explain sort of the physical presentation of it? Well, it reminds you of old films. And because of it, you kind of focus much more on the people's faces and their emotions because it's black and white and it is compressed. It makes everything look very different than what we're used to with color and with 16 by 9, widescreen, with all sorts of information.

It's less information, but it's really interesting. intense information. Yeah, you do have to focus in on it. And at first, it's a little disorienting. Right. You say, is this a flashback at the beginning of the movie? And then you realize about 15 minutes and we're going all the way through like this. Interesting.

But it isn't, it's almost like a play. It's like the kind of movie he's done. Since Twilight ended, there were five of those in 2012. He sort of took himself out of the blockbuster world. Went a little more like indie, artsy films. Interesting. So it kind of follows in a tradition. And he was so big, got so famous, so young in those Twilight movies, that I think that was a rational choice for him to like step out of the sky.

Right. Yeah. He said for a time that he couldn't go outside of his house, that people were picking through his trash, that he had, you know, people were just stalking his life. And it really changed how he could live. So I think that that speaks to what you're saying, that he kind of picked a whole other kind of work where he'd have a lower profile but could do the kind of art you wanted to do. Yeah, he talks in other interviews about having to hide in the trunks of cars, being chased all over the place by paparazzi. And I think it was a conscious decision to kind of like get out of that. But he was a great interview, but I do feel like he still carries some of that with him.

You know, like a little bit guarded and who do I trust? What do I say to people? You know, I think he's been burned a lot in his life as a star. And so he carries that around with him. I agree with you. But I think that you have a way of like getting through. through that with people. It's one of the strengths of these sit downs because you have the time. And what I found was that he was, he opened up to you and he was sort of honest and he talked

about his own, his anxiety when he auditions, his anxiety about whether he's going to have another job. I mean, you think the guy's got such a successful career and is so famous that he wouldn't worry about that anymore. But he really told you a lot of sort of intimate things about his feelings about his career. And I thought that was very interesting. I think you're right. The advantage is that we do have all this time when we do these interviews. If you're doing a quick five-minute pop about whatever the movie of the moment is, you're not going to get through any of that initial barrier.

So, yeah, he did. I'm always surprised. I remember Ed Norton in a recent interview we did for this podcast, said the same thing, that every time he goes up for a new movie audition or even getting on set the first day, he feels like a fraud. Like, I shouldn't be here. It's amazing. I'm not good enough to be here.

And Robert Pattinson kind of says the same thing. And that feeds all that anxiety he has. By the way, Maggie, he's also, we talk about this arc of super big blockbuster, down to art films. He's coming back up to a big blockbuster. A Batman. Batman. Yeah, I'm excited for that one. I feel like I've seen every iteration of the Batman.

And I love that you asked him about being a superhero and he was like, not a superhero. I know. He was like very important to him. He jumped me on that one. He's like, but he doesn't have a cape. He's got a cape. He's got a cape. He said, well, he doesn't have any power.

He's just a guy who puts on a suit and goes in soft crime. But so yeah, we get into that conversation too of, okay, he kind of like stepped back from the spotlight for a few years. And he's aware and I think prepared to step back into it now. Yeah. He puts on that suit because there's no avoiding it when you play Batman. Well, he really thinks that he's not going to get a lot of attention. He thinks he's old and nobody cares. It's really funny.

I was really funny. He's just playing Batman. 33. Yes, correct. I thought that was so funny. He said like he was entering his middle-aged years. And I immediately Googled how old is Robert Pattinson for? 33.

Okay. I guess you feel that way when you have that much success. Success so early. I totally understand. For 100 years. Right. The grizzled old 33-year-old. So the movie's really cool and it's fun to hear him explain it because you'll have to see it for yourself.

But it is so unique and such a different kind of film. And as I said, a lot of people are going to be talking about it for awards. So Robert Pattinson joins us right now on the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Robert, thank you for doing this. Thank you, having it. I appreciate it. I told you, I just got finished watching the film. It is as extraordinary as everyone has said it is.

I was thinking to myself, how would I describe this film to someone? And I couldn't come up with a great answer. What would you to... Oh, God, I thought you were going to tell me. And I was like, thank God. I thought you've... This is all you, man. This is the question I cannot answer.

This is all you. I mean, just in a nutshell, what would you say this is a film about? It is It's about Two guys I've done a thousand interviews about it and I still can't do It's about two guys Essentially it's about two guys in the lighthouse

And They don't know what's going on either No it's kind of It's kind of a thing about whether their isolation Isolation is slowly driving them sane Or whether this the light in the lighthouse, the top of the lighthouse, has some kind of supernatural power over them, whether the whole island on this rocky outcropping that this lighthouse is on,

whether there is something going on which isn't completely normal, or whether these two guys are just drinking themselves into oblivion, or whether it's a kind of combination of the boat of the two. But amongst other things, lots of other different elements. And maybe it's, uh, uh, willing to phone might be Prometheus. Just as an add on at the end. He might be Prometheus. So when you receive a script like this and you read it on the page, you have respect for the

director, so you know that they're onto something probably. What was your reaction to reading the story? Did it click with you right away? Did you get it? Yeah. I mean, there was something which is, um, immediately, it struck me the originality of it. There's something so specific in the language that normally you would get. You could feel that it's very, very researched.

And there was something so particular in the kind of colloquial dialect that normally you'd see that in a very, very serious historical drama. And then suddenly there'd be these kind of slapstick comedy elements to it. And then suddenly, like, this kind of absurdist, surreal. horror fantasy stuff that was like Benuel or something and they had these really really really disparate elements and it was all kind of holding together in this I don't know it felt like you're walking down a tightrope of different tones and yeah I just thought it was so striking and I remember reading it thinking I mean how is this going to work all and then on top of that you see

it's going to be in the academy ratio, the kind of old boxy TV ratio, and in black and white. It's like, well, no one's going to see this. And then for some reason, it's kind of, I've seen it with multiple audiences now and they're just, like, everybody's laughing way. And I'm like, wow, I had no idea

but there was an appetite for kind of, sailor yarns. Late 19th century sailor sailors. I mean I agree with you I didn't expect to laugh in the first couple of minutes. I was sort of bracing but there are moments of humor in it and as you say what strikes you first obviously is just the visual of it which is that it's in that aspect ratio that it is black and white some part of you thinks okay we're starting with a flashback or something and then you realize that the

entire film will appear this way what did you think about that presentation when you first heard it be shot that way? I just think it's so funny how people, it's so shocking to people that it's almost, it's funny because you see people going further and further and further in the other direction if you're working with widescreen, kind of getting more and more computer generated stuff, spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the budget, and you kind of just make the screen smaller and people are like, whoa, right. It feels like a special effect.

but it has such a visceral effect on an audience and also it kind of I think it makes people feel like it's sort of an unearthed movie from the 20s or something and then when it sort of divulges into this kind of nightmarish scenario

it's like if you if you'd found this movie from the 20s and this happened in it then it would have been just the craziest movie you could ever find but yeah I has a really big effect on people, which is great. Yeah, for people who haven't seen the film, it almost looks like an old photograph or what you would imagine an old photograph from that time period to be. Did, was it always set to appear that way, or was that something that the director

came to and said, oh, I think the story would be better told this way? No, it was in the, it was on the first page of the script. It said it was an academy ratio and it had a mono soundtrack. And I was like, wow. Before we shot a frame. but yeah I think it does look incredibly beautiful and I think when I think I shot about three weeks and I saw the way it makes your your body look when you're kind of there's a scene when I'm pushing this wheelbarrow of coal and falling over in the rain I just spend a lot of time pushing wheelbarrows of coal you did I noticed that and um it's a lot of time pushing wheelbarrow to coal and um it's does that ratio does something to kind of elongate your body and it does it kind of ends up looking like that

sort of bust a key to knee kind of it makes everything look a little bit more spindly and I think as soon as I saw that I wanted to lean more into the comedic stuff and it helps to do everything with Willem as well who just seems to no matter how dark he's going it seems uh I don't know he just always seems a bit It's devious. So it's the two of you effectively. There's sort of appearance a couple of times from another actress. But it's effectively the two of you locked in that academy ratio in that box together for the entire film. How did you get ready for a performance like this in terms of creating that character,

but also knowing you were going to be doing battle with Willem for two hours? I mean, it's kind of frightening because I've, I know. I've seen so many amazing performances at Willem's done. I know he can bring a level of intensity that hardly any other actors can do. And there was so much good stuff on the page that it just felt like it was sort of down to you to mess it up a little bit. So I think in the prep period, I just avoided everyone at all costs. I just didn't want to say any of their lines. It's kind of, it's one of those parts where it just felt like it was a kind of leap of faith sort of part.

I feel like there are these scenes that the adrenaline level is so high. You kind of, I just thought my only chance at this is to just charge yourself up and then sort of explode at each other. But yeah, I mean, it's very fun day with him. I've heard conversation between the two of you where he said he, when the rehearsal period he was playing the character and he noticed you were sort of low-key about the way you were playing in it

he didn't know how to react to that exactly but it sounds like you were sort of saving it for the performance yeah I was being kind of wasn't being wasn't sharing I kind of because Willam seems like he has

an infinite way of playing infinite ways of playing a scene whereas I kind of had like three ideas and I think if I'd play them too early Willem would have been able to kind of recalibrate

his performance and kind of swallow me a little bit. Right. Because there's something, I don't know, I hate it when the other actor in a scene can, it looks like he's expecting what I'm

about to do. Right. And you can see he's faking his reaction. I want it to be a real reaction of kind of surprise or something. And there's only so many times you can surprise someone. And so I think I was just trying to hold everything back until the last possible minute, really. That's so interesting, though,

because it almost sounds, you think of acting as collaborative, almost adversarial. If you had to hold something back so you could give it to them in the film. I'm not a team player at all. I want to win. Is that a regular strategy for you, by the way, in a rehearsal or in an audition to hold back a little bit?

Or is it just something about this? In an audition, I was always terrible at it. I could never figure out the... I could never figure out the rules of the game or the playing field, so it was just... It was just... The anxiety was too much for me. You've done pretty well with your auditions that I've noticed. I just sort of...

I mean, I just need... I guess you just need one. You just need one to work. Right, right. But, yeah. But no, not really. I mean, I like it. But I like it with Willem as well.

kind of I love it when people surprise me. It's acting so much more fun when you're just being reactive rather than, I don't know, you've made some kind of, you've made a plan and you're sticking to it. I hate working on people who I can tell, but they've done it, like, in front of the mirror. And then, like, right, it's like, no matter what you do, you can't change, you can't push them, of course. Like, I like it kind of when neither actor knows where they're going or what's going on. they just feel like they're very much in the present.

And would you say that's more common than not that the person has already rehearsed their lines in the mirror? They've come with their performance and here it is, or do you find a good actor does not do that? I think you can be really good either way. I mean, it's just in terms of enjoyability. Right. And also, I can't really do it, the way which you make a plan.

So it's kind of if someone else can do it, it makes it very difficult for me. I mean, it looked just being up there. looked, and I say this in a positive way because it fed the performance. It looked miserable. I mean, it looked cold and rainy, and I believed that you were on that rock for three or four weeks or whatever it was. What was it like shooting? It was very cold and rainy, but it's beautiful in Nova Scotia.

I mean, it's kind of, it's one of those places. We were on this place called Cape Forchew in a little town called Yarmouth. And it's just one of those places where it's like a little microclimate where you can kind of, it will be a beautiful sunny day and then like one minute later we'll just have enormous hailstones, and snowing or five seconds later. And there's just, there are more seasons than you kind of realize what they could possibly be, but they've all played out in about three hours. It was really true that you went up there a little bit early before the shoot to sort of get,

get acclimated and to feel what it might be like to live there in real life? Yeah, I mean, I kind of always want to go as early as possible. But, yeah, Willem did the whole nine yards and was living in a tiny little fisherman's cottage by himself and only eating beans. Is that right? And you weren't willing to go that far. I mean, I didn't know that was an option. I mean, that you can see from all the farting in the movie.

There is a lot of that, I noticed. With a nice claim. A lot of them improvised. That was one of my first laugh. This is going to be a bit different up in the attic there. It's definitely a bean heavy diet. You've heard, undoubtedly, I don't know whether it interests you or not, people talking about this performance in Willems,

both being worthy of acclaim and awards. Is that something that you're interested in? Is that something that you listen to? Is it something that's important to you to be nominated for a big acting award? I mean, I think it's important to any actor, but let's say I 100% did not expect it from this movie of all the movies that I've been involved in.

I mean, I'm kind of amazed, and it's kind of... It's just in this kind of environment of everyone kind of questioning where movies are going, kind of what the future of cinema is, blah, blah, blah. And then suddenly something like this was just really, really, I mean, in a lot of ways, an abstract movie and kind of, you know, it requires quite a lot from an audience. And the fact that it's not just in two art house cinemas and it's kind of, and it's got some kind of traction with people like, it's kind of, it's really, it's, excited me about the future of, okay, what else does an audience want? I mean, it's kind of,

if you can keep going, because this is sort of my Uber a little bit. It is. Yeah. I want to keep going weirder and weird and weird. Well, it could have been shot 100 years ago, and yet it's getting traction today. What do you think that is? Is there something missing in cinema that this avoid that this fills somehow? Or what do you think is catching on with people? I think it would have had the same effect hundred years ago. I mean, it's kind of, I think people watching, it's a kind of visceral experience.

It feels very like holistic. It's kind of, you go that there's something about the aspect ratio, the black and white, the kind of, the ornate language of it, that's just, even people who don't really understand exactly what's going on, which is

everybody. I confess. It's kind of a, is this kind of it feels like a wave hitting you I mean I've kind of the screenings we've been doing recently like everybody looks like and have a nap off to it

it's kind of I think it's like yeah it's a kind of it's a ride I think people people are kind of excited about it I do feel like the physical presentation makes you lean into it a little more I don't know why I think in the movie you sit back

and let it happen to you here I'm sort of leaning forward and it's also it's there's some Something kind of, it's not pandering to an audience. It's very aggressive in saying like, this is the world. You either get into it or you don't. And I think that's definitely the kind of stuff which I like. When I go to the theater anyway, and it's kind of, I don't want to, I don't want to feel like the movie is trying to kind of chase off to me to get me to like it.

It's like, no. Leave it alone. Take it or leave. Here it is. Hey guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Robert Pattinson after the break. Welcome back. Now more of my conversation with Robert Pattinson.

So you were talking about how this film, The Lighthouse, has sort of become a piece of your Oprah over the last six or seven years. Was that a calculated strategy for you post-Twilight that I want to sort of go down into this other place, not the big showy box office movies, but do some independent acting work? Yeah, I mean, I've always sort of been my tastes,

and I kind of, it's funny. That's sort of how I was approaching the Twilight movies as well. When I was sort of, I see all my interviews about them, I'd always just want to pick. I'd promote them as if they were Cronenberg movies. I mean, I'd always be saying, like, oh, I'd, like, chew through. a placenta and they do all this stuff. It does happen in the movies, but

these are kind of in the Twilight movies. But there's obviously not how they kind of really want to be, the studio did not want me to promote them like that. But that's kind of how I always saw them. And I think I just kind of kept following down that same

kind of mentality afterwards. But then just got lucky with a few directors. I basically got this movie called Cosmopoulos with David Cronenberg in 2012, which is the year I finished doing Twilight. And it just, I just loved the experience so much and kind of realized there was something about doing pretty esoteric movies that I thought, I mean, it's not necessarily just because they're esoteric,

I just like the fact that they were just original. And sometimes it doesn't really work, but like sometimes, you know, I'm more interested in getting one person to really, really, really like it. And it's like to be their favorite movie rather than get loads of people to just be like, oh, let's go and see that. It's kind of just generally, what happens to my movies? One guy. That's good enough for you. But I'm sure, I have to imagine after you make five movies that make more than $3 billion, there was a line of studios that said, here's your next big project.

So did you have to decide in that post-Twilight moment? I could go this way or that way? Kind of, but it just seemed like there are few, like, it's like there are very few examples of people who've kind of popped up really. quickly and then tried to, you know, if you're trying to get hits the size of Twilight, like all the time, like it's, you know, you're setting yourself up for a fail. Like you've got to, you've got to think of a new angle. You have to see different gaps in the market.

I thought that was the more dangerous option in terms of having more longevity in a career to kind of look for commercial fare. And also, like, I just thought it would be so depressing if you just can't get employed anymore. And the only thing you try to do with your opportunity is just have another opportunity. Like, it's like, like, I just always think, if, I'm still the mentality, but every movie I do is going to be the last movie I get. And so I want it to be something which is kind of cool to go down for. Well, you've done that with the lighthouse without question.

Was there any part of you? on a personal level that just wanted to turn down the temperature on the celebrity aspect that came with Twilight and sort of dipped down into these films

that were great for an actor but wouldn't get you all the paparazzi and the rest of it? I mean, I think you kind of, I think that the only,

as soon as your novelty wears off a little bit, I could feel that that was not, I could feel right from the beginning it would never really lost for that long anyway. What gave you that feeling? You can just tell anything which comes that quickly.

Unless you're really, unless you're giving people, feeding people novelty, like the whole time, that seems to be the only way to maintain that kind of flame of celebrity. And I wasn't doing that at all. So it's kind of, I didn't even try to maintain it. But, yeah, I never really, I wanted to continue getting movies.

I was never really thinking about the other stuff. understood that that was part and parcel. And I always kind of thought from the beginning it wasn't that really, it wasn't that bad a price to pay for a pretty great life. I'm thinking back as you're talking in recent conversations I've had like this with Orlando Bloom and Kit Harrington, who both were sort of shot out of a canon. Kit Harrington in the Game of Thrones,

Orlando Bloom into the Lord of the Rings films, and saying they came out the other side of that like you did Twilight and wanting to go back to the theater and sort of go back and do some of the things that didn't happen. at the beginning of their careers because they were shot out of that canon so quickly. Do you have any sense for that as well? I genuinely feel like I'm still, I was, I mean, going after the same directors that I did before, before Twilight.

I mean, I kind of, like, it's just, like, you know, I was also auditioning for every single thing, but, like, you know, the movies I wanted, movies that I'm doing now, and it's kind of the same thing as I wanted when I was 20. and I think yeah I kind of I got into acting I was interested in acting

because of a specific type of director and that's kind of still what I go for now when you started those Twilight movies there's no way you could have seen what was coming with the success of the movies and what was going to happen to your life

now that you've got some distance from the Twilight era in your career are you able to look back and say wow, that was insane on every possible level? Yeah. I was doing a screening yesterday. I think it was yesterday. Or maybe the day before.

With my friends, Eddie Redmayne and Tom Sturridge. And we did just have a little moment where it was like, I mean, I've known them for like 15 years now. And auditioning with them. And when we were auditioning when we were auditioning when we first started, I mean, it did sort of seem like, it's felt like a joke then that anyone was asking us to audition for anything. And now the fact that 15 years later, you're still having a career, it just seems like even more of a joke. Right.

I mean, I can't really, I can't believe. I mean, it's absolutely insane. But, and also, I'm so thankful as well. But I just kind of, I like it more and more and more every year. I like the craft of it. I like every single time I get a movie. I love the camaraderie of it. Like, I still get really excited about all the kind of,

like the release of things. Like get excited every single time I release a movie. I'm really, really curious to see what happens. And it kind of, I don't know if it's for whatever reason, I think it's because I disassociate from a lot of the bad parts from it. but I'm not jaded about it at all, which I'm pretty surprised about. I don't think people realize you had a life as an actor before Twilight. Obviously, Harry Potter got you some recognition,

but where did the acting thing begin for you? I know the story goes that your father sort of nudged you toward a production company to get over some shyness, but where did you start to feel like, oh, I like this acting thing? I like the reaction I get from a crowd, or I just like doing it. I think I went to this kind of drama club and I was working backstage because I liked a girl who went there. That's like literally the only reason I joined it. And then they did guys and dolls one year and I just loved the movie of guys and dolls so much.

I'd never auditioned for anything. I'd never sung in front of anybody or done anything. And I really wanted to play Nathan Detroit. And I think once, as soon as you just done that first audition, and you kind of crossed that line, it just sort of did something. And I knew I kind of wanted, there was something, I knew there was something in me that wanted to do it,

but yeah, it's definitely. And then I did a play, I remember doing one play. I did a play called Tessa the Derbivoles. And there's a scene like screaming it. They're playing Alec D'Urberville, and I'm screaming at Tess, and I saw these two people in the audience who were both going to be absolutely horrified by this scene. I was like, high off this. And, yeah, I kind of tried to look for those opportunities afterwards.

And it's so fun when you do it. When you do something, even on a film set, you can still approach film. I still try and approach it sort of as if the crew is. audience. I think of them as like I want them to sort of be reactive even though it's literally their point to not be reactive. They still try to force it.

Yeah, and it's kind of, you want to get those reactions all the time. Well, the lighthouse does have that feel it is almost like a play. You know, I could see this as a stage play. Certainly. Did that, did you tap in for this part to some of your early roots, your theater roots? Or you did not feel that way when you're shooting with

cameras and a crew around you. I think it was actually very particular where, how they shot it, because you need so much light because of shooting on black and white negative. And so you could kind of, even we're doing this really long takes that actually very, very, very choreographed as well.

So it's kind of, because if you're inches in the wrong place, then like, you're just in total darkness. So it's kind of, I guess it is kind of like a play in some ways, but it's like a supercharged play. I mean, I wouldn't have been able to do that every night for months. There's no way.

Right, no, God. No, God. No, I barely could do it once, I imagine. You're finished. I think the director basically said, like, your only usable takes your first and your last. It's either your first or your 30th. Is that right?

How did you and Willem get on during the shoot? Because as I said, it is such a grind. be part and you talked about early on and the rehearsals not wanting to give away too much. What was it like just that one-on-one tight space? It's great. I mean it's kind of

well I'm just very, very, very alive in his performance in every movie and in conversation. I mean, I've done interviews with him where we did one interview. I can't remember who it's for now, but we were talking about technique and I'm just kind of

I don't know half the time I'm doing an interview I'm just saying some words I'm just the kind of fill space Not here of course but other interviews Yeah And I said something about technique And Willem has just laser focused on me

And like completely ignores the fact we're in an interview uses the entire interview time to like school me about Oh wow about technique in a very very nice way But like very very very focused on it And he's kind of like that in scenes where it's sort of, like, I guess, because it's just another thing.

Someone really, really loves it. Like, you kind of, it's just a lovely feeling when you can't, you have to be very, very, very, very present with him. And it's exciting to do scenes with him. But yeah, and I was just frightened, frightened the failure at the beginning. I literally just, I always just think, like, the first couple of weeks of a job, I just feel like they're just going to say, yeah, this isn't going to work out. You still feel that way after all these years?

If it ever happened to you once, which happened to me years ago, and I didn't see it coming then, so now I didn't realize you could get fined from acting terms. Is that healthy in some way, that little fear that gives you the edge that... Yeah, for sure. Yeah. If you're not throwing up before every take, you're doing something wrong. Was there some of that on this film? Yeah.

From the throwing up and the nerves. It's definitely, you kind of want to, I don't know, I used to get so paralyzed with anxiety before auditions and stuff that you'd do it, and I just couldn't even, I couldn't do anything in the audition. And I think I'd been trying to figure out a way for so many years to get rid of the anxiety by trying to calm yourself down. And it never worked and nothing ever worked.

and the only thing that really works is just to get to use that anxiety as a charge and just to kind of push it into some like you really like grip hold of it and kind of use it as energy and so like now I kind of now I'm addicted to it like it's like a kind of adrenaline junkie so even in the kind of most low-key scene I'm kind of fully like ramping myself up for it And the source of that is anxiety, and you can just sort of channel it in a positive direction. Yeah, it's everything. You build everything from anxiety and fear. Wow.

So as we're talking about this beautiful sort of almost art house movie, I'm thinking now to your next projects. We're just discussing, you just wrapped a film with Christopher Nolan. And, of course, you'll be playing Batman in a film that comes out in a couple of years. Yeah. So it sounds to me based on... That's crazy to say that a couple of years. Yeah, 2020. Yeah.

But it sounds to me just talking here. you're not the kind of guy who sort of strategically plans his career, you just do good things. But as you know, these will be two big movies again. Yeah, I mean... Have you... Was that a calculated move? And not particularly. I mean, it's kind of...

It's... I'm looking for sort of the opposite of what you've done last. And then... And you're kind of... I don't know. I mean, Chris's movie just came kind of out of nowhere. And I was that true, yeah. I mean, I think because Chris is, Chris is, Chris makes art house movies.

I mean, like Dunkirk is an art house movie. It's kind of, it's just got a big budget. And it kind of, there's no dialogue. It's kind of, I mean, it feels almost like an experimental film. And like all these movies sort of seem like that. He's been making these kind of adult noir movies with these, enormous budgets. Right.

And they're all this, connect on this massive global audience. I mean, it's just, his career, it's insane. Right.

But I love his style and stuff. And so, yeah, I thought I just, I wanted to, I would have worked with him at any point. What was it like to step

into his universe? As you say, the kind of things you do already, but with $100 million dollars behind it or whatever the budget is. I mean, it's funny because you kind of,

it's the same at the end of the day. Like, when you kind of, It's pretty astonishing when you see an enormous set and there's thousands of extras and all this stuff going on everywhere. And still, it's just for the camera, it's just for the little tiny square, all of this around you.

It's just for one dude's eye. Yeah, it's like, it's really, yeah, it's kind of bizarre. But very, very fun and kind of it's just so nice to do this stuff with no green screen as well, which is just so much fun. And some stunts as well, maybe, right? Yeah, just a lot of, a lot of hair. I really feel my age. Stick around to hear more from Robert Pattinson

on the Sunday Sit Down podcast, including why he immediately said yes to taking on the iconic role of Batman. Welcome back to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Now more of my conversation with Robert Pattinson. And then I have to ask you about Batman. That came to you and you thought what? Do you want to be a superhero?

I'm always funny saying, that was not a superhero. Well, forgive me. How do we classify that? I always balked it. It doesn't count. You need to have magical powers. I mean, it's got a cape, so that's a pretty good start. The cape is there.

Yeah, I gave you that one. What did you think when you first heard that offer? Like an immediate yes. Yeah. It's kind of, I love the kind of history of part. I love every iteration of how it's been played. I love, I don't know, it's a very, very special part. And I think it's been very carefully, the word.

I feel like everyone's really looked after the character over its history. And it kind of, there's a lot of reverence for it. You can really feel at the studio. And, yeah, it's a very, very. I mean, it's just you can't say no to it. And I really wanted to say yes. Yeah. And what do you do as an actor to get ready for a part like that that's quite different

from the lighthouse, for example? I don't know, yeah. Is there a physical aspect to it or the things that you need to do to get ready differently? Yeah, there's like a few little things. But, I mean, it's cool. I think Matt Reeves has got a really good. direction for it and I'm just

like I'm just very very kind of eager to get started on it because it's kind of it's a lot of expectation is there any consideration in your mind when you get an offer like that of okay kind of here we go again I'm going to be up on billboards

and my face and my life and everything else will be back out there because you've done such a good job recently and keeping a relatively low profile compared to the twilight years do you think about that It happens as a part of me that just thinks, like, it is impossible to kind of be at, like, what happened at Twilight because it was just sort of, it was just so sudden, like, and that now I'm kind of, I don't know, I'm hoping it won't be people hanging out outside my place.

I'm just thinking I'm kind of boring and old now, so it's sort of... That helps. It's fine. I barely ever go out anyway. I think you're right, though, when you say in the Instagram age, it's less interesting to get a photograph of you taking out your garbage. It just is, right? And it's kind of, yeah,

it's the one benefit of having a very youth-centric culture. Because it's literally like, I don't know, I'm kind of thrown in the middle-aged heap already now. Big move past this. And the trash. People just swipe to the next photograph. Enough of this. Well, congratulations.

It is an extraordinary film. It's great to talk to you. Thanks a lot, much. Cheers. Thank you. Well, there you have it, Maggie. He's entered middle age. I'm not sure what that makes Sylvie, you and me.

If he's middle age, we're ready for the eye. I'm not that far away from 33, so if that's middle age, I'm a little worried. We're Sylvie and I are at the end of the road. Great conversation with Robert Pattinson, super interesting guy who even though he is only 33, has lived a lot of Hollywood life. He's seen a lot. Fun to talk with him. His new movie, The Lighthouse, is in theaters now.

My thanks, as always, to all of you for tuning. in this week. Thank you, Maggie. Thank you, Sylvie. If you want to hear more of the full-length conversations with my guests every week, be sure to click subscribe so you never miss an episode. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday today, every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.