How Old Is Robert Pattinson’s Edward Cullen & Why Is It Creepy?

Initially, Robert Pattinson didn’t have particularly kind words about his «Twilight» character. In 2008, the star sat down for an Empire Magazine cover story (reported on by outlets like Gizmodo) and said, «He’s the most ridiculous person who’s so amazing at everything. I think a lot of actors tried to play that aspect. I just couldn’t do that. And the more I read the script, the more I hated this guy, so that’s how I played him, as a manic-depressive who hates himself. Plus, he’s a 108-year-old virgin, so he’s obviously got some issues there.» (Pattinson’s math is off by a few years here, but that’s forgivable.)

These amusing comments aside, Pattinson managed to escape a fate where audiences only knew him as the sparkly vampire, going on to star in Matt Reeves’ blockbuster hit, «The Batman,» and edgier fare like Robert Eggers’ «The Lighthouse.» Still, as recently as 2019, he was still ragging on Twilight; in an Actors on Actors chat with Jennifer Lopez for Variety, Pattinson said, «I guess the books are very romantic, but at the same time … ‘Twilight’ is about this guy, and he finds the one girl he wants to be with, and he also wants to eat her. I mean, not eat her, but drink her blood or whatever. It’s not that other people are telling them they can’t be together, it’s his own body telling him that.»