A Slate critic just did something rare: he publicly admitted he was wrong about Robert Pattinson. For years, the guy dismissed him as the Twilight guy. Then came Primetime, Lance Oppenheim’s A24 film about the making of To Catch a Predator, with Pattinson playing Chris Hansen as a tormented, soul-lost anchor. That performance apparently broke the critic, who now argues Pattinson is far more interesting than anyone gave him credit for.
The evidence is stacked. Pattinson has four 2026 releases: The Drama, The Odyssey, Primetime, and Dune: Part Three. He’s collaborated with Bong Joon Ho, Claire Denis, and the Safdie brothers, and his production company is behind both Primetime and an off-Broadway play called The Holes. The article slots him into the“opaque”acting tradition alongside Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, and Johnny Depp, and hints an Oscar nomination could finally be on the table.
His own quote sums it up:“I want to be misunderstood.”Ten years ago that read like a punchline. Now it reads like a mission statement. Which actor completely changed your mind after you’d written them off?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.