Robert Pattinson once thought he was 'possessed' while lying in an interview: "It was terrifying..."
Robert Pattinson has a way with his words and the world is here for it. The Twilight star has charmed fans worldwide with his outspoken and calm personality. Ever since he rose to fame, with his stint as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and as the magnetic Edward Cullen in the Twilight series, fans have loved the human side of Pattinson too. Appearing in myriads of interviews, the actor has reflected on his career, childhood, and personal life, to an extent. But what if we told you all of it was not true? While it is expected that not every story a celebrity tells on camera is necessarily true, Pattinson recently owned up to one fictitious tale he dished to an interviewer back in 2011, as reported by The New York Times.
The 38-year-old star did not hold back when suggesting that a story related to his 2011 film, Water for Elephants, was an utter lie. When TODAY host Matt Lauer asked Pattinson if he ever desired to run away as a child to join the circus, basically the plot of the movie, the actor weaved a story around the perspective that left everyone terrified. He narrated, “No, the first time I went to the circus, somebody died. One of the clowns died," Pattinson claimed, laughing before adding, "His little car exploded, the joke car exploded on him." He was not kidding when he said, as Lauer clarified it eventually. The British actor then added, “Seriously. Yeah. My parents had to - everybody ran out. It was terrifying. It was the only time I’ve ever been to the circus."
Recalling the absurdity of the tale, the Batman star reflected in a new interview while promoting his latest film, Mickey 17 in December 2024. He admitted, "There was absolutely no hesitation at all (in his voice), I’m like, 'What on earth? Are you possessed?'" Turns out, the story was sort of a defense mechanism against the redundant questions about his fame and personal life. He wanted to divert attention from being famous and simply spin an interesting story around his new film for which he was doing press for at the time. Hence, the insanely fake stories. “The only thing people would ever ask me about was being famous. You go into, like, a fugue state," the now-father-of-one said.
The A-lister’s new sci-fi movie, Mickey 17, is set to be released on March 7, 2025. The plot follows a disposable employee who is sent on a human expedition to colonize a different world. Maybe fans will get to hear another fictitious story around this subject, or maybe not. Pattinson sure has come a long way, but his absurd tale from 13 years ago remains a hilarious fan moment that shall stick out for the rest of his career.
However, in 2022, the Tenet star shared a believable story about his childhood dream to play Batman. He said he dressed up as the Caped Crusader his “entire” childhood and expressed how his inner child was delighted to have got the opportunity. “This is bizarre to me. I'd be so curious what my childhood self would think of this,” he noted, per ABS CBN. While there is a line of great actors who have played the DC hero, Pattinson marked his favorite one played by Adam West.