Robert Pattinson. Virtually unknown a year or two ago, the 22-year-old actor has captured the hearts of a million teenage girls for his role as the brooding Edward Cullen in the smash hit Twilight. Pattinson as a person comes across slightly strange, as he purports to rarely wash his hair, he shyly avoids interactions with fans and paparazzi alike, and he remains blasé about his own acting abilities as well as the future. Given that, what is the best advice for Pattinson? How can he maintain his celebrity as well as keep a cool head? We have some ideas.
1. Get that Hair under control.
As much as we adore the wild hair that seems to act as if it were outside of his control, there's got to be some sort of happy medium between insane homeless hair and tightly coiffed perfection. Over all, yeah we get it, he's a musician, an actor, a free spirit floating in the wind, but everyone other than Joaquin Phoenix manages to wash, dry, and cut their hair. With the recent reports surfacing that he never even showers, it seems like a good step to keeping even less in the public eye. The act of never showering could be a deterrent to rabid fans, yet another defense mechanism for coping with the onslaught of crushing and sudden fame, but then again, one gets the impression that Pattinson is half lazy, half easy going. Washing his hair is just not as important as other things in his life, and that's going to have to change.
2. Pursue stand-up comedy.
If you haven't heard Pattinson's surprisingly dead-on self-mockery in the Twilight DVD commentary, you're missing out. In the space of an hour and a half, Pattinson manages to be surprisingly brilliant, hilarious and not at all dull, like parts of Twilight may have lead people to believe. So, with that in mind, there might be room in the comedy circuit for one more gangly, slightly awkward fellow giving honest observations about daily life. Except daily life is hiding from screaming teenage fans, avoiding the paparazzi, and appearing on the covers of magazines. While the actual mechanics of this proposition might be impossible, given that he can't appear in public without being mobbed, much less stand up in a small club and attempt to give a legitimate comedic performance, it's still nice to imagine a world in which Pattinson is free to entertain to his heart's content. Until then, I suppose we have the audio commentary of New Moon to look forward to in 2011.
3. Get that pretty face into a variety of films.
From Little Ashes to Twilight to Harry Potter, Pattinson has gotten himself a good agent and is happily finding his way into a wide variety of films. That's the key to longevity in this industry: Don't over-saturate the market and pick films that will make money as well as stand the test of time. The strange thing about Pattinson is that he presents himself in public rather shy, and I suppose one would be a bit withdrawn, given the overnight nature of his recent fame, but he's an actor for crying out loud. There's at least a part of him that loves to perform. It is worth remembering that Pattinson is only 22 years old and has only been acting for a few years. Time will tell if it was meant to be, but in this harsh age of instant judgment, many people are not given the time or space to even begin to come into their own. At his most comfortable when playing naturally, Pattinson could benefit from doing a few plays and perhaps even a music-related film of some sort.
4. Keep on with the music career.
Where he might seem shy or uncertain in public, once a guitar is put into his hands, Pattinson becomes suddenly and visibly sure of himself. Two of his songs were featured on the Twilight soundtrack, and his voice is actually something else: soft and sulky, a perfect counterpoint to his strong features. Ideally, Pattinson would continue to write and perform his music, though there is a delicate line that must be walked once one is an Actor/Singer. People are quick to judge both singing and acting, and when someone purports to do both, criticism flies from all sides. Pattinson has the looks to keep acting, provided he finds a stable place to work from, but with a voice like that he deserves to give singing any chance he can.
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