Hollywood star Robert Pattinson has opened up about what a fluctuating body – a necessity for some male actors in differing film roles – has taught him about the pressure of body image for men.
The Twilight and The Batman lead man described the variety of diets he has used to change his body for roles as “insidious”, adding that he hopes he can get to a place where he can be more consistent in how he eats and exercises.
“Yeah, it’s crazy,” Pattinson told ES, when talking about the pressure men and boys might feel to look a certain way.
“And it’s very, very easy to fall into that pattern as well, even if you’re just watching your calorie intake, it’s extraordinarily addictive — and you don’t quite realise how insidious it is until it’s too late.”
‘Tried every fad’
Pattinson said he has never battled body image problems, “but I have basically tried every fad you can think of, everything except consistency.
“I once ate nothing but potatoes for two weeks, as a detox. Just boiled potatoes and Himalayan pink salt. Apparently it’s a cleanse … you definitely lose weight.
“And I tried to do keto once. I was like, ‘Oh, there’s a diet where you just eat charcuterie boards and cheese all the time?’ But I didn’t realise that you can’t have beer as it completely defeats the purpose.”
Pattinson actually didn’t have to work out at all for The Batman, where he played a more wiry, mysterious and cerebral version of the famous superhero.
He was given a trainer for the role who handed Pattinson a Bosu ball, one weight, and instructions to use both.
Pattinson ignored the trainer.
“I think if you’re working out all the time, you’re part of the problem,” he told GQ at the time,” he said.
“You set a precedent [by working out for roles]. No one was doing this in the ’70s. Even James Dean — he wasn’t exactly ripped.
“The one time they told me to take my shirt off [when filming Twilight], I think they told me to put it back on again.”
He said Batman co-star Zoe Kravitz worked out five days a week for the role.
‘Barely doing anything’
“Literally, I’m just barely doing anything,” he said, of his own approach.
He later clarified he thought it was “really embarrassing” to talk about your exercise plan and that his comments to GQ were more of a joke.
“I got in so much trouble for saying that I don’t work out, even from my trainer, who was like, ‘Why would you say that?’”, he told ES.
It isn’t the first time a male Hollywood actor has called out unrealistic body standards of the movie industry, and the message it might send to other males, particularly boys.
John Boyega, Jacob Elordi and Jonah Hill have also called out the issue.
Pattinson’s next movie, Bong Joon Ho’s project Mickey 17, will be out in Australia in March.
It is Bong’s first movie since he directed Parasite in 2019, which won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars.
“The movie is so crazy, it’s a completely different style of working,” Pattinson said.
The film is based on sci-fi novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton.
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