Robert Pattinson Explains Why He Likes Offbeat Roles and What He Thinks of Method Acting

“I love finding something where I have absolutely no idea how to do it. I don’t approach parts if there’s something relatable.” – Robert Pattinson

As part of Variety‘s Variety Studio: Actors on Acting series, the media outlet has been pairing two actors from different career backgrounds to discuss their work and process. One of the interactions features The Lighthouse star Robert Pattinson in conversation with Jennifer Lopez. The pair discuss finding roles that they enjoy and feel challenged by, with Pattinson explaining why he enjoys offbeat roles and why he associates Method acting with acting like “an a**hole.”

Pattinson points to a project like The Lighthouse and says that those kind of roles appeal to him because he thinks of them as a challenge. He confesses, “I love finding something where I have absolutely no idea how to do it. I don’t approach parts if there’s something relatable. If I was going after parts which seem somehow relatable to my real self, I would be consistently playing chronically insecure losers.”

For example, Pattinson reveals that one of his dream projects would involve a skill that he had no background in. He continues, “Something I was trying to find for years was to do a ballet movie. And then my agent was like, ‘Why? Do you know how to ballet?’ I’m like, ‘No.'” When Lopez asks him why he wanted to star in a ballet movie, he replied, “I think there’s a ballerina inside me.”

And that is the reason why he was drawn to a film like The Lighthouse. Regarding the role, Pattinson says, “It was one of those parts where you could see in the script that it was a no-limit part, which I always really like.”

Though the part allowed Pattinson to really explore his creativity, he admits that he doesn’t engage in Method acting in the way many other actors do because he associates Method acting roles with, well, being a jerk. He explains, “I always say about people doing Method acting, you only ever see people doing Method when they’re playing an a**hole. You never see someone just being lovely to everyone going, ‘I’m really deep in character.’ … Between action and cut, that’s the thing. That’s the safe place. I need to know that there’s a cut coming, and then I feel safe. That’s when you go crazy.”

More: Robert Pattinson on ‘The Lighthouse’ and Why It Was Liberating to Play a “Mad” Character