Robert Pattinson is all set to take on what could be the role of a lifetime in The Batman, but how does an actor go about building their take on such a famous character?
Batman is not a two-dimensional character even though he got his start in that medium. There have always been layers to the caped crusader due to his origin, and bringing those to life is a challenge every actor who dons the cowl must face.
Pattinson recently sat down with Vanity Fair France to discuss the process of building his take on Batman. (Please note that as this interview is translated, there may be minor inconsistencies in wording.)
“To start, The Batman, I’m using things at the moment that seem fragile compared to the importance of the project. Conversations I’ve had with close friends, embryos of dreams. This is the secret and sensitive part of the actor facing the heaviness of the project.” He went on to add, “On The Batman, on Tenet, a gigantic team of technicians surrounds you and when you say, “Let’s go Robert…Action!” you have to forget this mass of people and play in front of your own thoughts, your own demons. Yes, I have an actor’s excitement to face the tension of the set, the inordinate expectation of all these people and to transform it into a dialogue between me and myself. It’s an exciting and horrible feeling to be that “little shit” who risks planting all the heavy artillery, all that war infrastructure, because she wasn’t able to go and get it… I think about that, a few days before a shoot.”
And how does Pattinson build a character such as Batman? “I look first at the character and what I have to do with it, how I’m going to have to invent nuances in this shell, making it more complex, more complex all the time. Batman is a role in which I have to learn how to play ambiguity better. It’s out of the question to interpret a character of a single color. It’s beautiful, people who seem to live in two states at the same time. And then, imagine: you love to cook and after years you succeed in obtaining the perfect dish, the healthiest, the most balanced, the tastiest, the most subtle; would you honestly eat it at every meal? No! What would you secretly dream about? To make you a nice fat cheeseburger, ah ah ah ah”
It sounds like we’re in for an interesting ride with his take on the character.
The Batman is scheduled to hit theaters on March 4, 2022.
SOURCE: Vanity Fair France
VIA: battinsonverse
TRANSLATION: rpattinsonfr
