22 February 2025
GQ Spain: Robert Pattinson: “I love that people keep telling me, ‘Man, Twilight ruined the vampire genre.’ Are you still stuck on that shit?” *Translated via Google – Extract below read full article by clicking on link above.*
“Each from his own personal life, Pattinson and Dior Homme cross paths again. And… what changes in this reunion? Everything… and nothing . From the interpretation of the Dior man to the formula of the fragrance, everything seems different, but ironically familiar. “I think I leaned more towards rebellion the first time I was an ambassador for Dior Homme,” Robert Pattinson tells us from the kitchen of his New York apartment via video conference. It is 11:30 in the morning in the Big Apple and the actor, wearing a red hoodie and his characteristic wild hair, shows a relaxed profile that, in effect, puts distance between himself and the mysterious Edward Cullen who marked the beginning of his story. “We wanted to create the opposite image of the stereotype of a man who appears in a male campaign. Now that the years have passed, the spirit of adventure remains, but it is true that there is more sincerity. A relaxed sensuality, a kind of romanticism,” he continues.
Pattinson points to a paradigm shift that Kurkdjian also shares, describing his proposition as the sweet sister of the Dior Homme family – delving into the brotherhood between iris and toffee. “ The boundaries between masculinity and femininity have blurred since the launch of Demachy’s Dior Homme,” explains a calm Kurkdjian from his Paris office, completing the geographical triangle between Madrid, New York and the French capital. “After all, one is aligned with the other and they define each other, so if one changes, the other changes in turn. Not to mention the paradigm of fluid gender, of course. And in all this complexity – because the truth is that this redefinition of gender is sometimes a mess – the idea was to translate the man of today into an essence, also taking into account that trends, molecules and aromas change every ten or 15 years.”
It makes perfect sense, then, that the nose has opted for sweetness in this new reissue of Dior Homme. Because, although it has never been considered a masculine quality, in a world plagued by hardness it is a weapon as powerful as virility or physical strength. The bet, it seems, has gone in favor of Kurkdjian, who assures that he does not feel intimidated by the legacy of Dior Homme. “A lot of time has passed between both versions, so there has been enough space to propose something new. In addition, François is from a different generation. When you create a fragrance , it is normal to take your past as a reference. For example, my likes and dislikes regarding men’s perfumes come from my father, something that I think I have been able to infuse into this project,” concludes the artist.
But granting Kurkdjian the title of artist, as we soon discover, is in direct conflict with his view of the craft: he himself staunchly argues that perfumery mastery is not an art . An opinion that a stunned Robert Pattinson decisively contradicts. “I do think it is! [laughs]. I actually find it interesting how strangely similar it is to acting. To me it’s very tangible in a lot of ways, but I guess there are a couple of elements that are…” Pattinson thinks for a few seconds, then continues: “The process is very boring, and then you rely on some kind of metaphysical aspect to make it all fit together. I think the art… [he says with a certain sarcasm], the process of creating a fragrance, is just fascinating .”
Conclusion? Art is as subjective from a conceptual perspective – that is, what it is – as from a manifestational perspective – what is created from it. An eternal debate that also occurs in the world of cinema . Is it really art? What kind of films are? Will Mickey 17 , the sci-fi film with comic touches starring Robert Pattinson under the direction of Bong Joon-ho, be one? “ Bong Joon-ho is probably one of the five directors in the world right now who can take a project of enormous caliber and turn it into something idiosyncratic, unique and interesting,” says Pattinson, visibly excited. “There is a reason why one wants to work with masters. Bong is simply inimitable .”
Pattinson is also full of praise for the South Korean director’s relaxed yet extraordinarily productive way of working. “The set of Mickey 17 was huge, we had to shoot a huge amount of scenes, the tone was extremely particular… But with Bong, who was shepherding around 500 people every day, I was never stressed ,” says the actor. “We had a lot of time to experiment, to play,” he continues. “Because it was Bong’s film, he was in charge and I was kind of a clown saying: ‘Do you like this? I’ll do a bit of this and I’ll do that too. ’ I really tried to make Bong laugh [laughs]. And he just showed certainty and confidence. It’s incredible to see people so sure of their abilities, whether artistic or in terms of management. To this day, I still don’t quite know how he did it,” details the actor, who still says he is impressed by his way of managing the project. Compared to the process of creating Batman , another of his big box office hits of the present decade, the filming of Mickey 17 must have seemed like a spa retreat. “ With Batman, the feeling was very different . There was so much anticipation, the stress was so palpable… on top of that, we shot during Covid, which made the production very complicated. Nothing like the filming of Mickey 17 , which was fun and enjoyable.”
Another of the big questions raised by the release of Mickey 17 has to do with the need to continue the path of cinematic dystopia (when you see the project, set in space and with catastrophic overtones, you will understand exactly what we are talking about). A trend in the industry that, far from disappearing, seems to show no signs of fatigue, and which makes us wonder to what extent it is actually a mirror of a society in which, following the theory of historical cycles, we are reliving chapters that we thought were closed . Chapters that represent an attack on progress and, in general terms, on the good of humanity.
Robert Pattinson, however, is much more optimistic. “Honestly, I don’t think the world has changed that much, but rather that human beings are prone to collective thinking .” He does agree with the way in which cinema reflects a social current, as he explains, but he does not consider the action-reaction to be so explicit. “It’s strange to work in an industry based on storytelling , because you can see what people think of themselves and of culture. There was a period of about eight years when every single script that came to me was about a dystopian story. Out of nowhere, post-apocalyptic was the only topic of conversation. I think we’ve already passed that stage, but not because we live in a dystopia and need to talk about something else to distract ourselves.”
The same has happened with cinema from a broader perspective, he believes. “Many people were talking about how nobody was watching films, that nobody was going to the cinema and that it was the end of the industry. However, suddenly a wave of new directors has emerged who, super ambitious, have launched original projects that have brought back enthusiasm ,” he explains. Everything has to do, according to his reasoning, with how young people have dignified a cinematic conversation in which tastes are freely shared without fear of outside judgement. “For example, you see many kids expressing their identity on Letterboxd [a social network where opinions on audiovisual projects are shared]. When I was a child, everyone had a shelf of DVDs and CDs that represented you, but I think that expression has been lost a bit due to digitalisation. Now there is a way of exposing yourself that is very cool and that could motivate a great change in the meaning of cinema in particular and culture in general.”
…
These same young people that Pattinson mentions as saviors of cinema are also responsible —or maybe hostages?— for another of the great inclinations not only of cinema, but also of literature, fashion and music: the taste for remakes , or the predilection for a past that helps some of us to remember (and in the process to forget the chiaroscuros of the present) and others to understand the world of their elders. In a ‘today’ (over)loaded with ‘yesterday’, there is also the modality of reviving, in order to dignify, creative proposals that were once reviled.
In this context, asking about the vindication of the Twilight saga , considered an insubstantial work in the early 2010s and conceived as cool , visionary and influential in the 2020s, is more of an obligation than a desire for that pre-teen who grew up with Bella Swan, the Cullens and Jacob Black. “I find it a fascinating phenomenon. I mean, I can’t believe it. I think this renaissance has emerged in Korea and it’s happened a bit like with K-pop , which took off in Korea, but then seduced a young Western population. I find it hard to believe the cultural relevance that these films maintain because they are so old… The first one was released in 2008, fuck! [laughs].” In passing, Pattinson takes advantage of the situation to be very explicit against those who, as he himself has said on previous occasions, did not know how to understand the background of a saga ahead of its time. “I love that people keep telling me, ‘Man, Twilight ruined the vampire genre . ’ Are you still stuck on that shit? How can you be sad about something that happened almost 20 years ago? It’s crazy,” the Brit says with a laugh.
This conception of the passage of time is shared by Kurkdjian, who recalls in detail his first face-to-face meeting with the actor. It was, in fact, during the recording of an audiovisual content linked to the Dior Homme campaign that took place in New York. “ I realized that [Robert] was very bad at interviews [laughs]. It is very impressive when you meet someone you have only seen through a screen and you realize how in a certain way you have idealized him. When we met for the first time in New York, it was very funny, because everything seemed unreal to me: we were inside a car that was not even started, since it had been placed on the platform of a truck that was the one that really moved us around the city. The fake driver was a journalist who was interviewing us… It was all very surreal, but at the same time very fun and surprisingly easy. I like things to work organically,” …
10 Magazine: Robert Pattinson On His New Dior Homme Parfum Campaign *Extract below*
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, master perfumer and perfume creation director for Christian Dior Parfums Francis Kurkdjian has reimagined the classic, enhancing its sleek, sensual essence with a rich, concentrated formula that bears his distinctive olfactory signature. Even better, Robert Pattinson is the face of it. “I think this new chapter in the campaign has such a deep sensuality to it. And also a relaxed maturity that probably comes from being so comfortable around everyone I work with at Dior,” says Pattinson.
In a smouldering campaign lensed by Mikael Jansson and backdropped by either a city skyline or what resembles a Brooklyn loft apartment, the chiselled English actor lounges around, his hair tousled with a devil-may-care kind of attitude, looking like the picture of the versatile man. “Dior Homme is so malleable, which is important for me because I don’t want to be tied down to one identity. I want to be able to be free to adapt and Dior Homme seems to fit with any situation,” Pattinson says.
Dior Homme Parfum is great at that; bending and remoulding to fit any scenario be it a blue-light heavy day at the office or a rambunctious night on the town. With just one whiff, you’ll be enveloped in an intoxicating overdose of iris, capturing the softness of its petals and the earthiness of its roots. Kurkdjian’s fresh interpretation of Dior Homme Parfum embodies the couture spirit of the Dior man, offering a scent that is both structured and fluid, sophisticated yet deeply sensual. When and where does Pattinson apply it? “Mainly in the morning so that by the evening you’ve really made it your own. I’m more used to wearing fragrance at night when I have plans to go out. I give one spray and walk through it.”
Recalling his conversations with Kurkdjian in New York, Pattinson says, “I loved talking to Francis in New York. The process of making a fragrance from an outside perspective seems so impossible to understand, but Francis has a way of describing his art that is so evocative and accessible that I left our meeting having a much deeper understanding. I love that his process sounds like some kind of grand emotional adventure rather than being stuck in a lab.” Returning to his thoughts on the fragrance, he adds, “I like the saying that nature does not grow in leaps and while Dior Homme is always innovating and changing, it maintains the familiar while leading us gently into the new, and always with a little bit of wonder.”
Esquire Middle East: Robert Pattinson smolders with the best of them, but he is no Zoolander *Talks The Batman*
Smoldering. There are few men who can ‘do smoldering’ better than Robert Pattinson. That sexy, broody, intense stare that on-screen is like a spark to a tinderbox. It’s the kind of look that, when mastered, you can build a career on – and, boy, has Robert Pattinson mastered it.
The face of Dior Homme fragrance since 2012, he has literally been the embodiment of the wildly popular, sexy, amber scent that this month gets re-invented thanks to the talents of Francis Kurkdjian, the artistic director of Christian Dior Parfums.
But don’t let a decade of smoldering fool you, Robert Pattinson is no Derek Zoolander. As one of the world’s most versatile and respected actors, his films include The Twilight Saga (2008-2012); The Lighthouse (2019); Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (2020) and The Batman (2022) – films that have him portraying the whole spectrum of weird and wonderful characters, normally from the very front of the film poster.
“Honestly, I find the Dior Man one of the hardest ‘characters’ to do,” says Pattinson. “Essentially you are being ask to play ‘attractive’, which actually comes with a lot of pressure when the cameras start rolling. You have to hit multiple points all at the same time.”
The newly released video for the re-imagining of Dior Homme sees Pattinson dancing, laughing, shadow boxing, smoldering in the mirror, smoldering in the throes of passion, smoldering up the fire escape of a Manhattan red brick, and smoldering while riding a motorcycle on an empty beach while being straddled by a beautiful woman. Does anyone do it better? We’ll wait…
Shooting a fragrance campaign can be a lot trickier than a film, because the character is so much more abstract and ephemeral so there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ it’s done more on feel. Sometimes it feels like a roll of a dice, but as most of the work is done by the director, editors and crew, that dice is usually heavily weighted to a six!” he laughs.
If you’re wondering which variety of smolder Pattinson actually is in real life, you’d be surprised to hear that its, well, none of them. During our multi time zone call, with him in New York and Kurkdjian in Paris, Pattinson spends most of it chuckling, cracking wise, and constantly running his hand through his floppy hair (another asset that he has tamed, mastered and built a career on).
Through today’s eyes, it’s hard to believe that back when Pattinson fronted his first Dior Homme campaign, the whole ‘actor as a brand ambassador’ thing was out of favour. With a legion of fans built off the back of the Twilight and Harry Potter series, Pattinson’s profile was rocketing and he had a tricky decision to make.
“At the time, there was this stigma attached to actors doing fragrance ads. It was considered a bad look, and had that whole Zoolander thing attached to it,” he pauses to do his best ‘Blue Steel’ face and laugh. “But I remember being really frightened about those first meetings with Dior, like I was crossing an unspoken divide. But now, twelve years on, being the face of a fragrance is almost part of the package of being a lead actor, and working with Dior has turned out to be one of the best career decisions I ever made. It’s actually the longest relationship that I’ve ever had!” he laughs.
…
For Kurkdjian, the task was to talk to the modern man. Something that he describes as constantly balancing the dualities of being fragile and strong; powerful and charismatic but also sensitive.
“That’s what we try to capture with my character,” adds Pattinson. “He is someone who wants to experience everything, but never feels quite at home. He’s constantly trying to define himself in quite a passionate way. It’s funny because over the past 12 years of being one of the faces of the Dior Man, I’m probably one of the worst people to describe what masculinity is – because I don’t know myself!”
“If you do an iteration of something that already exists there will always be a comparison because there exists a point of reference,” explains Kurkdjian. “However, as that framework already exists it creates a great challenge to explore your own interpretation of the project. I love the comfort of being in someone else’s shoes and walking with them at my own pace and rhythm.”
It’s a line that rings true with Pattinson as the Caped Crusader.
“There have been many wonderful different actors who have interpreted Batman before, and so there is certainly a template to follow should you want to,” adds Pattinson. “However, I’ve found that when it feels like they have exhausted all the ways of interpreting the character, you end up going deeper into it because of the ‘restrictions’ and coming up with something fresh that you wouldn’t have considered originally.”
To avoid Kurkdjian nods enthusiastically before further adding to the weight that pre-existing expectations can have on the role of creativity.
“Before joining Dior I thought a lot about the pressure that comes with the role and how I would be able to handle it,” he explains. “But I came to the realization that it is a job that you can’t or shouldn’t do with pressure, because if you do, you’ll f*** it up. Perfume is about pleasure. It’s like cooking. Yes, creative jobs are intense and challenging, but it can’t be too stressful as your energy must be saved for more meaningful things. Your energy must fuel your creativity, not your worry.”
As our time winds up, we loop back around to the campaign video and ask Pattinson about the scene of him riding the motorbike on the beach. Now that is come classic masculinity.
“I actually had to learn how to ride a motorbike for The Batman, I had never ridden one before – well, apart from when I was 15, and my mum caught me riding dirt bikes in the countryside with my cousin. I got in a lot of trouble for that!”
“Essentially, Dior asked me if I could ride one and I was, like, sure,” Pattinson explains. “However, I was not expecting they meant, that I needed to ride a vintage motorbike on the beach across wet sand in freezing cold temperatures… it’s extremely difficult!” again, he chuckles. “Oh, and by the way, you have to do it with a girl sitting on your lap with her legs wrapped around you, and, if you could to that all while looking cool and composed, that would be great!”
Advice on pulling it off? “Just smolder and style it out”.
Harpers Bazaar: Robert Pattinson Says Suki Waterhouse Is the Best-Smelling Person He’s Ever Met
Pattinson is as delightfully honest and refreshing as ever. Ahead, the actor spills his hair-color regrets, the one health supplement he really loves, and more of his fragrance and wellness secrets exclusively to Bazaar.
You had blond highlights in my favorite film, Tenet, a mustache in The Lighthouse, and darker, longer hair in The Batman, and then in the upcoming Mickey 17 I imagine there had to be slight physical differences between the multiple versions of you. So how does beauty, grooming, or scent play a role in how you conceive of the characters that you’re playing?
It’s massive and kind of an unusual thing as well. It’s funny, because in your everyday life, if you’re an actor, you’re like, “Oh, if I wear these clothes or wear this or whatever, everyone’s gonna think I’m, like, this kind of person as a normal person.” No, they don’t. No one is thinking anything. No one even notices you change your hair. But it’s such a funny thing when you’re on a set and doing a camera test and you’re saying, “Oh, what is this saying, this slightly different hair?” It sort of does do something. It definitely makes me feel very, very different.
The blond highlights in Tenet—I was really obsessed with Christopher Hitchens at the time. And there’s something about a very blond person who’s a heavy drinker; it’s a very particularly kind of English thing, and you always see it in a gentlemen’s club. I kind of associate very blond hair with a kind of childishness, and there’s something like a sort of angelic-ness about you—like a fallen-angel kind of thing. That’s what I was going for.
Was it your decision, then, to go blond for that film?
I initially dyed my hair really blond, and it looked a little crazy. I toned it down a bit. Highlighting your hair is funny. I did it the other day, when I went to Coachella for the first time in like a decade. I kind of had a nervous breakdown beforehand, thinking I was too old. So I got frosted tips put on, and then I wore a hat the entire time anyway because I was too self-conscious about it.
You’re like…this was a bad choice.
But when I was by myself, I was like, “Hey, I look like how I wanted to look when I was 15.”
Let’s talk about scent for a second. So, describing scent is tricky for us non-perfumers. How would you describe this new Dior Homme iteration in a few words? Does a song or music come to mind? Does it make you think of a location or a memory?
I don’t really like scents where, if you walk into a room wearing it, everyone’s like, “Oh, what scent are you wearing?” And you can kind of identify certain notes to it. [The new Dior Homme eau de parfum] is very subtle and kind of close, and it kind of synthesizes with your body quite easily. You can’t immediately tell that you’re wearing a scent, which I thought was really lovely. It seems very simple. There’s something very uncluttered about it, which I really, really liked.
But, yeah, when I was talking to Francis [Kurkdjian, Dior’s perfume creation director], we did this behind-the-scenes making-of-the-scent video, and they asked me to describe it. And like every single ingredient I said had nothing to do with the scent—at all. In fact, both this one and the last Dior Homme, I was like, “It smells like pencils,” and Francis was like …“Okay?”
That’s why we’re not perfumers and Francis does what he does!
[In a joking voice] Some scents I like are tomato ketchup and, uh, maybe some steak? I don’t know, toast?You’ve previously mentioned that you have an affinity for sheet and eye masks. Are there any other self-care beauty habits you think have made a difference in how you look?
This stuff called L-glutamine, which is like a workout supplement. I was having it and was like, I feel great when I take this stuff. Then I looked it up after and learned it was really good for skin and things like that. I think every single supplement says it does everything, but for some reason, for me, L-glutamine really does do something.
I definitely moisturize quite a lot. I can tell when I am working that I get full facial dysmorphia. I think, “If I just put on half a tube of moisturizer, maybe tomorrow I’ll look 12!”
It’s in the hope of it all!
I also realized that there was a thing that Jennifer Lawrence had told me to do when we were in Calgary. It’s really high altitude. I’ve never really had altitude sickness, but I was exhausted all the time. She said to get these little oxygen-canister things that you can spray on your eyes. It apparently does something. I got really obsessed with doing them. I think I just liked having a little toy to play with that you can just spray on your face.
My whole sense of smell changed after having my son in 2022 [???? Maria: I think they mean his daughter in 2024]. Has becoming a dad changed your sense of smell or your scent preferences at all?
Everyone said, “Oh, the smell of babies!” And I really didn’t get it—until you have your own baby. My baby smells great! I really still don’t really like the smell of other babies. I think my baby smells different from other babies. It’s not a generic baby smell. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking.
I think it’s different for women. Once you’ve had a baby, it actually does a physiological thing. I definitely have noticed, though, that I never had candles and stuff. Now I’m like, why am I keeping them in my hotel room all the time and lighting all these little candles? What happened to me? I tidy it up all the time. I make my bed. It’s, like, bizarre.
You’re an adult now.
It just suddenly happened!
Right there with you. Who is the best-smelling person you’ve ever met?
Suki.
That’s really sweet. And what does happiness smell like to you?
Suki. [Laughs] Scored some points.
Gourmand scents are fragrances inspired by food, and they’re trending right now in beauty. So, what food do you think should be bottled up and sold as a scent?
It’s weird. Foods, when you take them out of the context, they’re always gross. If you smelled a person that smelled like a sausage, you’d be like, what the fuck is wrong with you? But a sausage smells really nice. In any condition, it has to be associated. They have to be linked. You can’t separate.
Iris flower is at the root of this new Dior Homme scent. What is your favorite flower to give?
There’s this florist in London. I can’t remember what it’s called, but I like giving really unusual flowers. It’s not just a pretty bouquet. I like it when you get things that are like, whoa, they look like they’re from an alien planet. I always like giving something like that.
It’s said that men rarely get gifted flowers outside of funerals. So when was the last time you received flowers?
Kim Jones always gives nice flowers. And it’s funny because I normally wouldn’t really appreciate flowers. It’s kind of like, uhhhh, thanks? But Kim gives really nice flowers. He sends them for my birthday and thank-yous and things, and they’re always lovely. And it made me start putting them in my house more. I would never have flowers just like around before. He sent this amazing bouquet once, and I had it in my entryway, and I was like, this is actually delightful! I like having flowers and plants everywhere.
Iris flower can symbolize faith and hope. So you’ve been the face of Dior Homme for a decade. What is something you hope for the next 10 years?
I guess I hope nothing really bad happens. But you know, if it’s really bad, it’s never that bad. You get over it! I hope the world doesn’t end. That’d be nice.
Wouldn’t that be lovely?
I hope everyone just has a great time.
I love that. So in 10 years, if the world doesn’t end and there’s another fragrance launch, then maybe we’ll talk again!
[Laughs] It will be made from literally some radioactive flower. We found the last flower left.ELLE USA: Robert Pattinson’s Sense of Smell Will Blow Your Mind
Robert Pattinson joins our Zoom from a hotel in Boston, where he’ll be spending the next few weeks shooting a movie with Zendaya, officially making this the coolest, sexiest moment in the nearly 400-year history of Boston. It’s the start of a busy stretch for the new-ish father, who has a 23-month-old daughter [??? Maria: Obviously 23 months is incorrect seeing as she was born in 2024] with his partner, Suki Waterhouse. This month he’s headlining a new fragrance campaign for Dior Homme, and he’ll be back in movie theaters this spring in Mickey 17, the long-awaited sci-fi black comedy from Parasite director Bong Joon Ho. Below, Pattinson takes our ELLE Man questionnaire.
Your work with Dior Homme made me wonder how acute your sense of smell is.
I can weirdly turn on and off my sense of smell. I think I have a scent dyslexia, where I think something smells like something that no one else thinks it does.
Do you have any vivid memories attached to a particular scent?
Since I had a kid, I’ve definitely become more attuned to that. I remember my mom always saying, “Oh, the smell of babies!” And I’d be like, I don’t know, they all smell like genetically modified piglets. But then you have your own kid, and it’s, “Oh, this is the best smell I’ve ever smelled.” Another one that comes to mind was the smell of the mask in The Batman. Once you put the cowl on, you have to get someone else to take it off, so there’s something about being locked into it. You’re like, “Okay, I’m gonna be dealing with this smell for the next 12 hours.” It’s funny—when I did the audition, I tried on all the different [cowls] and I wore Val Kilmer’s, and it still held a human scent.
It still smelled like Val Kilmer?
Yeah, Val Kilmer. And a bit of what Clooney’s head smelled like 20 years ago.
Does your baby have a particularly identifiable scent to you?
I mean, like, if there was a pen of babies, I think I could probably snuffle her out. [Laughs.] Yeah. She’s got quite a unique scent.
Speaking of smells: Bong Joon Ho, your director on Mickey 17, says the movie is about “how pathetic humans can be. It’s almost like you can smell every human character in the film. Their piss stains and their smelly socks.”
Wow! He told me before we started shooting: “It’s not science sci-fi—it’s sniff-your-armpit sci-fi.” When you compare Bong’s Average Joe to a Hollywood Average Joe—the Hollywood Average Joe invariably realizes that they’re actually special. Bong’s Average Joes remain average, and maybe even get a little bit lower than Average Joe by the end of it. With Mickey—it’s like when Arthur pulls the sword out of the stone and everyone’s like, “Oh my God, you’re the chosen one.” And he’s like, “Fuck, no, no,” and then eventually puts the sword back in. Like, he’s so much happier once he’s put the sword back in stone.
Is it true that you originally based Mickey’s voice on Steve-O from Jackass but Bong thought it sounded too weird?
I used to love, and I still do love, Jackass. I remember listening to an interview with Steve-O years ago and he was talking about how much they got paid for these dangerous stunts on the first season, and he said a hundred bucks. Like, you can die from doing this, and he was like, “Nah, I’ll just do it for a hundred. It’s fine.” And there was something about that—actually being really brave and not ever acknowledging that it’s bravery. I thought there was an element of that to Mickey. So I spent a long time kind of figuring out an impression of Steve-O’s voice. And the first time I did it, Bong was just like, “Whoa—what’s that voice you’re doing?”
How do you take that as an actor? How do you know when to really dig in and say, “No—it must be Steve-O” versus when to be like, “No problem, it was just an idea”?
I mean, it was definitely a big swing [laughs]. And when you haven’t prepared someone, at all—it was at a script read through, and there’s like 40 people around the table, and every single person looks up, and they’re like, “Oh! Oh, you’re doing a thing?” I realized quite quickly that maybe this was too large a swing. But if they ever make the Steve-O biopic, I’m ready.
Did you practice your voice around the house?
I was walking around doing it all the time. One of my favorite things in the world is to walk around in public pretending to be on the phone and doing someone else’s voice. That’s like my hobby.
Your partner, Suki Waterhouse, pulled a prank on you, with ELLE’s help, in which she pretended she’d been asked to host Love Is Blind, with you as co-host. I loved how gracefully you handled what you clearly thought was a terrible idea.
It did worry me how good she was at doing it. Especially when I saw the video. I’m like, “Wow, you can lie to me so easily! And you can really, really keep a very straight face.” There’s no way I would never have been able to do that—she would’ve called me out in two seconds if I was doing it to her. And for some reason I was very convinced that she thought it was a good idea. But, I mean…maybe it is a good idea! I honestly don’t know! I always think that when someone comes to you with enthusiasm about something, never break their dream.
What’s something about women that you’ve had to learn the hard way?
Don’t try to win an argument. It is not going to happen. If someone says, “We need to sit down and talk about this,” they’re not asking for you to talk. You just have to sit there and listen.
Men don’t necessarily have the best reputation when it comes to breakups. Looking back on your romantic history, how would you rate yourself?
Obviously I rate myself 10 out of 10 for sensitivity. [Laughs.] I’m an angel, completely. And I always somehow end up on the moral high ground.
21 January 2025
From Vogue: Fatherhood, Doing his own Stunts and Dior Man
Robert Pattinson isn’t new to this. And by this, we mean Dior Homme Parfum and all the sexy, ambery energy that comes along with it. “We have been together for longer than a decade,” the actor says with a laugh on a fall morning. “This was before everybody was working with a fragrance.”
When describing Homme, which was recently re-invented by the fashion house’s creative director of perfumes Francis Kurkdjian, Pattinson says “the scent feels like more of an aura than spraying some perfume on.” With notes of iris flower, vetiver, patchouli, and amber, it’s something he likes to spray on for moments when he’s looking to make a good first impression. Like when he met with director Bong Joon-ho, director of his upcoming project Mickey 17, set to be released in March of this year. “Bong is one of maybe five directors in the world who have his level of expertise and influence. He is a really special artist.”
The actor also points out he’s not new to the more daring moments of the scintillating advertisement for Homme, which involves him riding a motorcycle on a beach. “I learned how to ride a motorcycle for Batman, so when Dior asked if I could ride, I said yeah. Well, I could sort of ride a motorcycle-ish. But even trying to even start a motorcycle in wet sand is literally impossible. I just thought, ‘I’m going to die on this.’”
Add the girl in his arms (literally) and Pattison just has to laugh. “If the Dior man can do this easily, well it’s very impressive.”
Pattison says, though, that none of that—driving fast, daring stunts—is what he’s like IRL. “I’m very anxiety-prone, I don’t like driving fast in real life at all,” he says. “I can’t even parallel park! I need it to be valet-only like in Clueless. But there’s something about my pride that comes out when I’m being filmed. All of a sudden, I’m like ‘yeah, I can drive 120 miles an hour through this tiny little gap.’”
The stunts he’s performing in Mickey 17 are much more in his natural skillset, Pattison jokes “It’s the kind of stunt where you’re just hurting yourself a lot. It just involves falling off ledges and being uncoordinated. It’s really in my wheelhouse.”
Though recent changes in his personal life—the actor welcomed a baby with partner Suki Waterhouse in March of 2024—have him leaning toward being even more risk-averse than before. The life milestone also introduced a new scent into Pattison’s life that he’s obsessed with. “I remember people used to be like ‘oh, don’t you like the smell of babies, but I thought they were just smelling the baby powder,” he said with a laugh. “But then I had a baby, and I was like ‘my baby smells incredible.’ There’s something there, I can identify her. She doesn’t smell like other babies.”
