Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor and producer. He is known for starring in both major studio productions and independent films, in which he often portrays eccentric characters across a diverse range of genres. Pattinson has been ranked among the world's highest-paid actors and his works have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. In 2010, Time included him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and he was also featured in the Forbes Celebrity 100.
Born and raised in London, Pattinson started acting at the age of 13 in a London theatre club. He made early screen appearances in supporting roles, including in Vanity Fair (2004) and as Cedric Diggory in the fantasy film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), before achieving global recognition as Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga film series. Pattinson also led the romantic dramas Remember Me (2010) and Water for Elephants (2011).
Pattinson subsequently began working in independent films from auteur directors. He was praised for his performances in David Cronenberg's drama Cosmopolis (2012), James Gray's adventure drama The Lost City of Z (2016), the Safdie brothers' crime drama Good Time (2017), Claire Denis's science fiction drama High Life (2018) and Robert Eggers's psychological horror The Lighthouse (2019). In the 2020s, Pattinson returned to big-budget mainstream cinema with starring roles in Christopher Nolan's action films Tenet (2020) and The Odyssey (2026), Matt Reeves's superhero film The Batman (2022). Pattinson upcoming movies include Lance Oppenheim's movie Primetime (2026) based on the reality show To Catch a Predator, and Denis Villeneuve's upcoming space opera Dune: Part Three (2026).
Pattinson is the founder of the production company Icki Eneo Arlo, through which he forayed into different film and stage productions. He has also contributed vocals to several film soundtracks. He is involved in philanthropy, supporting organisations such as the GO Campaign. Pattinson began modelling as a child and has served as the face of Dior Homme fragrance since 2013. Labelled as a sex symbol by the media, he is frequently named one of the most attractive actors; People included Pattinson on its list of the "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2008 and 2009. He has been in a relationship with singer and actress Suki Waterhouse since 2018, with whom he has a child.
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson was born on 13 May 1986 in the Barnes district of London, England. His father, Richard, owned a business importing vehicles from the United States, while his mother, Clare, worked at a modelling agency. Pattinson has two older sisters, Victoria and Elizabeth. At the age of four, he began attending Tower House Boys' Preparatory School and developed an interest in playing piano and guitar. By the age of six, Pattinson was participating in amateur performances. He secured his first role in a play titled Spell for a Rhyme, written by one of his teachers, and later appeared in his school's adaptation of William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies (1954).
As a child, Pattinson was disorganised, resistant to completing homework, and exhibited a lackadaisical attitude. His sisters often dressed him up as a girl, creating a female persona they named Claudia. In his leisure time, he enjoyed playing football, video games, and watching television shows such as Sharky and George, Doctor Who and Hammerman. Later his parents enrolled him at the Harrodian School, on Lonsdale Road near the family home. Pattinson excelled in English studies, which he described as his favourite subject. As a teenager, he worked as a photo model for British fashion brands and magazines and as a fashion designer. In his late teens, he pursued music by performing acoustic guitar sets at open mic nights in pubs around London. He sang original compositions either solo under the stage name Bobby Dupea or with his band, Bad Girls.
Pattinson initially considered a career in music or studying speechwriting at university but never thought about pursuing acting. A teacher once advised him against joining the school drama club, believing he was not suited for the creative arts. At the age of thirteen, Pattinson joined the Barnes Theatre Company, a local amateur theatre group, after his father encouraged him to participate to help overcome his shyness. After working backstage, he auditioned for the play Guys and Dolls and secured his first role as a Cuban dancer with no lines. In the following production, Our Town, he played the lead role of George Gibbs. During this performance, a talent agent in the audience noticed him, leading Pattinson to begin pursuing professional acting opportunities. He went on to appear in stage productions such as Macbeth, Anything Goes and Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Pattinson initially intended to go to university, but filming for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire conflicted with his schedule. Around this time, he shared a flat in Soho with his childhood friend and fellow actor Tom Sturridge.
Pattinson's first film role was in Mira Nair's 2004 costume drama film Vanity Fair—an adaptation of a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray—in which he portrayed the son of Becky Sharp. However, his scenes were deleted from the final cut and are only available in the DVD version of the film. Reflecting on the experience, Pattinson stated, "My first job I was playing Reese Witherspoon's son and I hadn't done any acting in school. I wasn't in a drama school or anything. I'd done one amateur play and you end up doing a film with Reese Witherspoon". That year, Pattinson had a more prominent role in the television film Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King alongside Max Von Sydow and Julian Sands. Directed by Uli Edel, the film follows Siegfried (played by Benno Furmann), a young blacksmith who slays a dragon and falls in love with Queen Brunhild (played by Kristanna Loken). Pattinson portrays Giselher, the younger brother of King Gunther and Princess Kriemhild, who looks up to Siegfried as a demigod.
In 2005, Pattinson was cast as Cedric Diggory in the fantasy film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, directed by Mike Newell. According to Newell, "Cedric exemplifie[d] all that you would expect the Hogwarts champion to be. Robert [...] was born to play the role; he's quintessentially English with chiselled public schoolboy good looks". Pattinson learned to scuba dive in preparation for the role. For his performance, he was named the 2005 "British Star of Tomorrow" by The Times and was also referred to as "the next Jude Law". The film grossed nearly $897 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2005.
In 2006, Pattinson starred in Chris Durlacher's The Haunted Airman, a psychological thriller that aired on BBC Four on 31 October. He played a World War II pilot who is shot, left paralysed and suffers from severe shell shock, eventually descending into madness. Pattinson himself described the role as his "best acting experience". His performance received positive reviews, with The Stage saying that he portrayed "the airman of the title with a perfect combination of youthful terror and world-weary cynicism". Pattinson then appeared in a supporting role as Daniel in the 2007 film The Bad Mother's Handbook, a one-off television drama adapted from a novel by Kate Long. In the film, he portrayed a shy young man who develops feelings for a girl struggling with issues after being dumped by her former boyfriend and experiencing difficulties with her mother.
2008–2013: The Twilight Saga and worldwide recognition
In 2008, Pattinson played his first leading role as Art in the film How to Be, directed by Oliver Irving. In the film, Art, after being dumped by his girlfriend, moves back in with his parents and convinces a Canadian self-help guru to relocate to London to help him rebuild his life. Irving recalled Pattinson's audition, saying, "Robert walked in[,] forgot his lines and just started improvising, which was exactly what I wanted [...] he's a really down-to-earth guy". Pattinson himself enjoyed filming the movie, stating that he "loved the script" and found it "very different from everything else [he] had read". That same year, Pattinson portrayed Salvador Dalí in Little Ashes (2008). He was originally considered for the role of Federico García Lorca, Dalí's lover, but the part ultimately went to Javier Beltrán. The film mostly received negative reviews; the Toronto Star's Greg Quill stated that "even cinematographer Adam Suschitzky's richly textured and resonantly toned cityscapes and rural scenes can't make up for a flawed script and weak performances in what might have been a powerful historical drama".