BY: Brendan Bell

Robert Pattinson has come a long way from his early days as a teen heartthrob who starred in franchises such as Harry Potter and Twilight. Over the years, he has built an impressive filmography filled with strange, intense, and wildly different characters. From sci-fi and crime thrillers, to dramas, here are some of his best roles.

Tenet

In Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Pattinson plays Neil, a mysterious operative who becomes the protagonist’s partner throughout the film. Neil’s charm and confidence provide a welcome contrast to the movie’s complicated time-bending story. Pattinson portrays an effortlessly cool character who slowly reveals to the audience that there is much more to him than meets the eye.

Good Time

Few Pattinson performances are as intense as Connie Nikas in the Safdie brothers’ Good Time. After a bank robbery goes horribly wrong, Connie spends one chaotic night desperately trying to free his brother. Pattinson completely disappears into the role, portraying Connie as selfish, desperate, reckless, and surprisingly vulnerable. The performance helped establish Pattinson as a serious dramatic actor.

Mickey 17

Pattinson takes on multiple versions of the same character in Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17. Mickey is an expendable worker sent on dangerous missions where his body is repeatedly regenerated after death. Pattinson plays the character with a mixture of awkward humor, vulnerability, and absurdity, while also portraying the different iterations of Mickey as increasingly distinct personalities. It’s one of his strangest and most comedic performances.

The Drama

Pattinson takes on a more unusual role in Kristoffer Borgli’s The Drama, playing Charlie, the fiancé of Zendaya’s character Emma. As their seemingly perfect relationship begins to unravel, Pattinson gets the opportunity to explore a character caught between romance, insecurity, and emotional chaos. It’s a great example of his willingness to embrace unconventional projects.

High Life

In Claire Denis’ High Life, Pattinson plays Monte, a convict sent into deep space aboard a spacecraft with a group of other prisoners. Unlike some of Pattinson’s more volatile characters, Monte is quiet, withdrawn, and deeply introspective. His performance anchors the film as Monte attempts to survive isolation and protect his daughter in an increasingly disturbing environment.

The Lighthouse

Pattinson delivers one of his most intense performances as Thomas Howard, a young lighthouse keeper stranded on a remote island with Willem Dafoe’s Thomas Wake. As isolation, alcohol, and paranoia begin to take their toll on his character’s psyche, Pattinson gradually transforms Howard from a seemingly ordinary worker into an increasingly unstable man. His explosive chemistry with Dafoe makes the psychological horror of The Lighthouse even more compelling.