Robert Pattinson Edward Cullen

Today we will separate the actor, Robert Pattinson, from the character, Edward Cullen.  Read on to learn more about each.

Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson was born on May 13 of 1986 in London, England.  He is an actor, musician, and model.  He has recently become very famous for his acting role playing Edward Cullen in the film version of Twilight, the novel by Stephenie Meyer.  He has also played the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

Robert was born in London, England.  His mother's name is Clare, and she worked for a modeling agency.  His father, Richard, worked at importing vintage vehicles from the United States.  Pattinson received his education at Harrodian School and Tower House School.  He started being interested in amateur theatre with the Barnes Theatre Company.  After having some backstage experience, he began taking on acting roles.  An acting agent became interested in Robert when he was in a production of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and then he began to search for professional acting roles.  In his childhood, he also performed in MacBeth and tried to become a model. 

Pattinson's modeling career started when he was twelve years old, but didn't last beyond the age of sixteen.  Pattinson blames the end of his modeling career on his masculine appearance.  He felt that at the time of his modeling he looked somewhat adrogynous, but now he looks more masculine. 

In 2004, Robert Pattinson had a supporting role in the film Ring of the Nibelungs in 2004 that was a television film.  In May of 2005, he was supposed to appear in The Woman Before at the Royal Court Theatre, but he was fired before the opening night and was replaced with another actor.  He also played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  His big break, however, came from the role of Edward Cullen in the movie Twilight.  This movie was based on the novel by Stephenie Meyers.  Pattinson was originally unsure of whether he wanted to audition for the role, because he wasn't sure if he could be as perfect as the character. Pattinson has also had lead roles in the films, Little Ashes, How To Be, and The Summer House. 

Pattinson plays the piano and the guitar.  He also puts together his own music.  He sang two songs from the Twilight soundrack:  Never Think and Let Me Sign.  Pattinson feels like music is his back-up plan if his acting fails. 

Robert Pattinson currently lives in Los Angeles.  He has admitted that when he went to audition for this role, he took a quarter of a Valium in order to calm his nerves.  He also admits to smoking.  In 2008, he was named one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" by People magazine. 

Edward Cullen

Edward Cullen is a fictional character from the films of Stephenie Meyer's series called Twilight.  He is in the following books:  Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. 

Edward Cullen in Twilight

In Twilight, Edward meets Bella Swan, who is a human girl who moves to Forks, Washington, where he is currently living with his family, the Cullens.  Each of the Cullen children was a former human who was turned into a vampire.  They are vampires who drink animal blood rather than human blood.  Edward is attracted to Bella but he fights his attraction.  He saves her life on a few occasions and eventually admits to Bella that not only is he a vampire, but he has fallen in love with her.  He will retain the body of a seventeen year old forever.  He was transformed into a vampire by a doctor named Carlisle Cullen, who saved him, and is now his adoptive father.  In the film, Edward is always warning Bella that she should stay away from him because he does not trust himself with her.  She ignores him and also becomes the target of James, a tracker vampire who wants to hunt and kill her for sport.  Edward and his family are able to save Bella from James and destroy him at the climax of the movie.

Edward Cullen in New Moon

In New Moon, Bella begins by attending a party that Edward and the Cullens have for her birthday, when she gets a paper cut and Jasper, Edward's brother, is so attracted to the blood that he tries to kill her.  Edward decides that he needs to leave in order for Bella to be safe, so he moves away with his family, leaving Bella heartbroken.  Edward and Bella are both heartbroken in their separate locations.  He mistakenly believes that Bella is dead, so he goes to Italy to convince the Volturi, a group of vampires, to kill him.  However, Alice, Edward's sister, and Bella rush to Italy to save Edward.  Edward explains to Bella why he left and he apologizes to her.  She forgives him and they continue their relationship, even though now Bella has a confusing relationship with Jacob Black, a werewolf that is her friend but that she shared romantic feelings with too.  Bella's family agrees that she must be turned into a vampire.  He gives her the option of allowing Alice to transform her after her graduation or if she will marry him, he will do it himself.

Edward Cullen in Eclipse

In Eclipse, Bella tells Edward that she will marry him as long as he will agree to make love to her as a human.  He finally agrees, but only after they are married.  Meanwhile, Victoria is still seeking revenge against Bella for the death of James, her mate.  She has been developing an army of newborn vampires for just this purpose.  The Native American werewolves and the Cullen family have reached a truce.  This truce may be in danger, however, as Bella learns that Jacob means more to her than she thought.  Edward ends up accepting that Bella has feelings for Jacob.  Victoria is destroyed and Bella realizes that Edward is most important in her life.  Edward tells Bella that they can go ahead and make love prior to marriage, but she decides that they will get married first, make love, and then she will become a vampire.

Edward Cullen in Breaking Dawn

In Breaking Dawn, Edward and Bella get married.  On their honeymoon, Bella gets pregnant, and the half vampire and half human fetus grows rapidly and quickly begins to affect Bella's health.  Edward wants her to have an abortion in order to save her life, but she refuses.  Edward learns the baby's thoughts and finds that the baby loves Bella.  Bella almost dies giving birth to the baby in an emergency c-section, but Edward delivers the baby and then injects Bella's heart with his venom, and the result is that she is turned into an immortal vampire.  During her painful transformation into a vampire, Jacob imprints on Renesmee, their daughter.  Later, a vampire, Irina, thinks Renesmee is an immortal vampire child, which is forbidden in the vampire world, and the Volturi arrive in order to destroy her.  Edward, Bella, the rest of the Cullens, and their friends and allies stand together and explain to the Volturi that Renesmee is not an immortal child and is not a threat to their existence. 

Stephenie Meyer stated that the role of Edward was the most difficult to cast for, because she was so specific about what she wanted.  One of the reasons Pattinson was chosen for the role was because he and Kristen Stewart had such amazing chemistry together.  Since the film has been released, there has been a bit of a cult following that has millions of devoted fans, primarily female.