Robert Pattinson Talks to Athens Voice about What Attracted Him to Connie Nikas in #GoodTime

 

Athens Voice had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Rob, Terry Dougas and Paris Latsis-Kasidokostas.  Below are Rob’s responses (roughly translated by me – my Greek is very rusty):

After the “Twilight” saga, your career took a different route – it is not the first time you’ve taken a risk appearing in an art house or independent film since you were in Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis”, “The Rover” and others. Is it your conscious decision to now only be involved in films like “Good Time” or is it just something that happened?

RP: Probably both. I have no negative feelings about big Hollywood productions. Besides, such as “Twilight” is largely due to my career so far and I am grateful to this. But when you have made five films that are identical, some time you are looking for new experiences. I want to try things that intrigue me and I feel they have something different to say. From the big, expensive productions that up and down you know what you expect to see.

In the role of Connie what interested you the most?

RP: He is a second-generation Greek-American who is looking to find his way. But he is desperate and continues to make mistakes (although on a second level he seems to be ingenuity and readiness in conditions where there is no apparent way out), and he is constantly turning to violence and lies. But he also has strong, positive elements inside him that personally excited me and wanted to discover them through the interpretation. His constant struggle to fight against all adversity is impressive.

Watching you in the film give this “crazy” dynamic but also attentive in the subtleties of interpretation – Connie may not always be the small time bad guy, as we see the loving, protective big brother who seems to love more than anything in the world his little brother – I had the feeling that this character must be very close to your true self. I am wrong;

RP: (laughs) You think so? In every role I undertake, however, I try to put personal details in the mix, of course, with pieces of fantasy. The truth is that Connie has some character in his character that touched me in particular. The energy, the authenticity and the feeling that what he does is the best for him and his brother (no matter if most are rather devastating) are embedded in his personal moral code that is not easily classified as good or bad. 

The film is produced by the Hercules Film Fund. How did you decide to join Good Time?

…

PP: When I saw what they had done on their previous film “Heaven knows what” I definitely wanted to work together and become part of their electrified, extreme world.

Did the directors leave you room to improvise your interpretation?

PP: We talked a lot about how I should approach the role. All quotes were written in the script. But I had the freedom in some scenes that were breathing in the action to change my initial thoughts on the approach of my character.

Click on the link to read the full interview.