Robert Pattinson Says His ‘Southern’ Accent In Netflix Thriller Is A “Crash And Fall” Troll
Apparently, he kept breaking character while filming, as his own pronunciations were making him laugh.
Robert Pattinson has always been a chaotic gem — his belligerent Twilight commentary is enough trolling for a lifetime, but the actor’s kept up the antics across his career. And while we thought that whole ‘microwaved pasta bowl‘ creation would have to be his crowning glory, then came along his accent in Netflix southern gothic The Devil All The Time.
In the film, which dropped last month, Pattinson plays a deranged preacher alongside Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Sebastian Stan, and Australian actresses Eliza Scanlan and Mia Wasikowska.
Reviews are mixed (Vulture called it a “sadistic slog“), but nevertheless the film’s made an impact thanks to Pattinson’s bizarre accent, which, upon release, melted the brains of anyone who watched the film.
Is this not five thousand times more interesting than if he had prioritized accuracy? https://t.co/28JbsjYLKg
— Griffin Newman (@GriffLightning) September 18, 2020
It’s not even the first time, either: last year, his ‘French’ accent in Netflix film The King was something to behold too, a bright if not unhinged moment in an otherwise dull film.
Now, in an interview with Devil… director Antonio Campos for Netflix, Pattinson reveals he’s much more interested in being a “crash and burn” actor, which is why he refused to work with a dialect coach.
“Some people like watching skateboarding videos where they can do the tricks, and other people like watching the ones where they fall off and crash. I think I’m more of the ‘watching people fall and crash’ type of person,” he says, laughing. “And I want to be that kind of actor.”
Campos, diplomatically, says that the best performances that seem on the edge of being a disaster, to which Pattinson laughs about being “the one who bombs, or gets as close to bombing as possible”.
The director then brings up Pattinson’s in-film rant, where his pronunciation of the word ‘delusions’ really sticks out — Campos says Pattinson kept making himself laugh while filming, take after take, when he got up to that line. He also confirms that Pattinson “avoided” the film’s dialect coach as much as possible, and instead arrived on-set in character with whatever accent and mannerisms he created alone.
“I was just wandering around the city just sort of learning the lines,” says Pattinson. “And I don’t know what it is, but there’s just something about some of the pronunciations that just really tickle me and I was just… wandering around and saying things and recording them on my phone, and I was kind of just making myself laugh.”
He then admits he just did it because it was “coming from somewhere”, even if it “doesn’t make a lot of sense”. Watch the video below and bask in Robert Pattinson’s chaotic good.
Earlier this month, the actor tested positive for COVID-19, shutting down production on Batman, where he plays the dark, brooding superhero.
extremely into Robert Pattinson talking about creating his THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME accent pic.twitter.com/Ofs7CrB064
— NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) September 26, 2020