According to Robert Pattinson, he has found himself trapped in yet another chaotic onscreen love triangle in his latest blockbuster, The Odyssey.
Speaking to MTV U.K. at the star-studded world premiere of Christopher Nolan’s action-fantasy epic in London, the actor opened up about his villainous new role.
When asked how much fun it was to play a character that the audience wouldn’t exactly be rooting for, Pattinson laughed off the idea, drawing an unexpected parallel to his famous past filmography.
“I think they will be rooting for him. I keep comparing it… it’s kind of like Jacob in Twilight,” Pattinson responded, jokingly referencing Taylor Lautner’s shapeshifting character from the massively popular vampire romance franchise that initially launched his own global career.
In this grand cinematic retelling of Homer’s ancient Greek poem, the 40-year-old actor portrays Antinous, the primary antagonist who leads a ruthless group of aggressive suitors.
With King Odysseus away at war, Antinous spends his time relentlessly pressuring Queen Penelope into a new marriage.
Elaborating on his brilliant logic with a trademark witty quip, The Drama star playfully recontextualised the classic piece of literature for modern audiences.
“What The Odyssey is about, Penelope just can’t make her mind up between the two guys and I’m just trying to like help her make a decision. … It’s like, it’s fine. He’s dead, get over it,” Pattinson joked.
While the ancient text of The Odyssey and the teenage angst of Twilight clearly do not share much common ground, the actor was obviously drawing a parallel to Jacob’s relentless, fan-favourite attempts to win over Bella Swan from his own character, Edward Cullen, throughout the multi-film saga.
