Robert Pattinson’s Accents, Ranked By How Bizarre They Sound

Pattinson’s breakout role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise was what introduced many of us to the A-list actor, and what had us falling in love with him in the first place. In terms of his accent, the sullen monotone is just fine. It’s average. It’s quiet and accidentally slips in and out at times. Not particularly special or great in terms of American accents, but it worked in selling Edward as the broody vampire, so clearly a success.

WHERE TO WATCH TWILIGHT

Pattinson’s husky performance as Bruce Wayne is probably one of my favorite roles of his. In a contrast from Christian Bale’s outwardly confident exterior, Pattinson plays Bruce as a highly reclusive and depressed loner. His voice, while sounding similar to Rob’s general American accent, reflects Bruce’s solitary mental state. His Batman voice is fairly similar to his voice as Bruce, albeit slightly heavier and raspier. There’s nothing too crazy within his voice or performance, except maybe when he and Riddler are yelling at each other in Arkham. A scene combining Riddler’s unstable singing with Bruce’s aggressively low yelling that I couldn’t help but giggle at.

WHERE TO WATCH THE BATMAN

While Tenet is a rollercoaster of headaches and confusion, one thing that’s pretty straight-forward is Pattinson’s accent, which just sounds fancy and British. He took inspiration from English journalist Christopher Hitchens for how to play Neil, and Pattinson himself has said that he never uses his own London accent when playing British characters. “For whatever reason, it feels fake to me when I’m using my own accent for a role – if I just play myself on screen, I feel like a fraud.” Ironically enough, watching Rob speak in a posh manner felt more off-putting compared with his more outlandish accents. Attractive? Yes, but still weird.

WHERE TO WATCH TENET

Good Time introduces us to Connie Nikas, a bank robber from Queens who embarks on a nightmarish journey trying to get his brother Nick out of jail. The role was his most immersive yet, as he completely transforms into someone unidentifiable and stayed in character both on and off screen while filming. In developing his accent, Rob talked about learning to speak in a Queens accent in a tattoo shop during an interview with Good Morning America. An admirable effort in terms of authenticity, and it’s clear that Rob put a great deal more effort in perfecting the accent compared with other roles.

WHERE TO WATCH GOOD TIME

In a rare pre-Twilight role, Pattinson played a young Salvador Dali in a Spanish accent with a “Scouse twang.” He learned the accent by watching interviews and copying ex-Liverpool Football club manager Rafa Benitez, though he clearly gives up on it about midway through, speaking in a very uncomfortable mix of British and Spanish inflections. Not only that, but given that the cast is full of actors of Spanish descent, Pattinson’s accent is made all the more confusing.

WHERE TO WATCH LITTLE ASHES

Pattinson’s first movie post-Twilight is a swift gear change into a dystopian future. He plays Rey, the stuttering brother of a car thief that Guy Pearce’s character is after. The film is set in the Australian outback, though Pattinson brings forth an oaky southern-American accent full of hiccups and tics. Strange and not at all pleasing to listen to, but not his worst attempt at channeling the South.

WHERE TO WATCH THE ROVER

The Zellner brothers’ wacky western is a great fit to Rob’s all-encompassing filmography, and it’s baffling to me that he hasn’t done more comedies. In Damsel, Pattinson plays a fast-talking pioneer with fake teeth and the silliest old-timey country accent. It’s pretty much ridiculous, and Rob exaggerates it greatly through a wild use of hand gestures. It ranks fairly high on the bizarre accent meter, though also strangely fits given the film’s offbeat tone. And the movie also features Pattinson singing a romantic love ballad, so perhaps it’s not all bad.

WHERE TO WATCH DAMSEL

In Robert Eggers’ sophomore feature, Pattinson and Willem Dafoe play two lighthouse keepers living on a remote island and slowly driven into madness by their isolation (an experience that feels all too familiar). Pattinson’s New England accent is delightfully theatrical. He sounds like a drunken pirate from start to finish. I honestly couldn’t understand a lot of what he was saying without the help of subtitles, and yet that’s what I found most appealing about it. From the highly specific fisherman jargon to the bold sea shanties, this truly bizarre accent shows Rob at his most unhinged.

WHERE TO WATCH THE LIGHTHOUSE

Pattinson’s terriblé French accent in The King has got to be one of his funniest acting choices by far. It’s just so goofy, sometimes switching between three different accents in one sentence. It’s also what I imagine Americans sound like when they’re drunk and trying to imitate a French person. The backstory behind the Dauphin’s accent is even funnier. In an interview with GQ, Rob talked about how he came up with it by mimicking people from Dior: “I started doing it as a joke at first, but then I filmed myself and watched it back and thought this actually kind of works.” Oh Robert… it definitely didn’t, but I’m glad you proceeded with it anyway.

WHERE TO WATCH THE KING

Devil all the time? Maybe worst of all time. Definitely the most insane accent he has ever tried. Pattinson has talked about how he didn’t let any of the cast and crew hear it until the first day of shooting, as he refused a dialect coach and crafted the accent on his own. While wandering the city where they filmed, he would record voice notes practicing the voice just to make himself laugh. And… it definitely shows. He plays a despicable preacher with a high-pitched Southern drawl. What makes the cartoonishly bad accent especially odd is the fact that he had previously done a Southern accent in The Rover (see above), and this is just completely different. It’s loud and pathetic and just all around upsetting.

WHERE TO WATCH THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME