How The Lighthouse Changed Robert Pattinson Forever
After "Twilight", Robert Pattinson did everything he could to distinguish himself as a "serious" performer. Many would agree that his role in "The Lighthouse" has been his biggest step forward. From misgivings about his character to a difficult filming process, here's how "The Lighthouse" changed Robert Pattinson forever.
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00:00 After Twilight, Robert Pattinson did everything he could to distinguish himself as a serious
00:05 performer.
00:06 Many would agree that his role in The Lighthouse has been his biggest step forward.
00:10 From misgivings about his character to a difficult filming process, here's how The Lighthouse
00:15 changed Robert Pattinson forever.
00:18 With the exception of a mermaid that may or may not be a figment of Winslow's imagination,
00:22 the only character he interacts with in the whole movie is Willem Dafoe's elder lighthouse
00:27 keeper, or wiki, Thomas Wake.
00:29 Wake and Winslow annoy one another from the very beginning, and by the time they're trapped
00:33 together with dwindling rations due to a storm, that annoyance has turned into bitter hatred.
00:38 The characters had multiple sources of inspiration, including the real-life tragedy of Small's
00:43 lighthouse in 1801 and the story of Prometheus stealing fire from Proteus in ancient Greek
00:49 myth.
00:50 Nonetheless, Dafoe and Pattinson's performances would have to be perfect to make it work.
00:54 Working with Dafoe was intimidating for Pattinson, and they didn't get much of a chance to discuss
00:59 his fears before shooting.
01:00 "I'll drop you down a few feet.
01:03 Easy!
01:04 Have you been in better hands?"
01:08 Rehearsals went badly for Pattinson, who grew frustrated by trying to take on the character
01:13 before shooting began.
01:14 Robert Eggers, the director, and Pattinson were furious with one another, and by the
01:19 end of the week, the star was convinced he would be fired before filming even began.
01:23 At the end of each day, he would slam the door on his way out and felt angry with Eggers.
01:28 The fury died down once they were on set, and Pattinson was able to embody Winslow.
01:33 But even then, the performer was still terrified of Dafoe.
01:36 In a discussion with Interview magazine, Pattinson shared his fear and awe of his co-star.
01:40 "My idea for The Lighthouse was that if I don't really understand this script on a cerebral
01:45 level then I'll try to understand it on a physical level.
01:48 But I must say that I've never seen someone with such a supernatural level of energy as
01:52 you.
01:53 I remember watching Dafoe and being like, 'How are you doing this?'"
01:56 "His coral-tying trident screeches banshee-like in the tempest and plunges right through your
02:04 gullet!"
02:05 Pattinson later said that he likes to take on roles specifically because he doesn't think
02:08 he can do them in order to keep challenged.
02:11 While he may have thought the script was tough, he had no idea just how difficult filming
02:15 would actually become.
02:17 Filming The Lighthouse was a waking nightmare for Pattinson and Dafoe.
02:21 They filmed on location in Halifax, Nova Scotia, inside of a lighthouse built just for the
02:26 film.
02:27 The weather was miserably wet and cold, and both performers were put through the wringer
02:31 to bring their characters to life.
02:33 One particular scene pushed Pattinson to his breaking point, and he nearly punched Eggers
02:37 for continuously spraying his face with a fire hose as they shot a large number of takes
02:41 walking across the beach.
02:43 He told Interview magazine,
02:44 "That's the closest I've come to punching a director.
02:47 It was like some kind of torture.
02:48 It definitely creates an interesting energy."
02:51 Dafoe has gone on record calling Pattinson a "warrior" for his approach to the challenge,
02:56 delivering the harsh sting of the water on their faces.
02:58 Dafoe went through plenty of his own challenges while filming, including delivering lines
03:02 with big mouthfuls of dirt.
03:04 But he wasn't tortured quite to the level of Pattinson, whose character is slowly going
03:08 insane.
03:09 There wasn't much camaraderie on set, either, which added to the miserable sense of isolation.
03:15 Dafoe shared his feelings about filming the feature in an interview with Esquire, saying,
03:18 "We both were working hard, in really tough conditions.
03:22 It's not like we hung out in between takes, joking with each other."
03:25 It was demanding enough, and the weather was s--- enough that you did your thing and then
03:29 you went home.
03:30 This isn't to say that Dafoe didn't enjoy the film process.
03:33 He went on to elaborate further,
03:35 "I'm not complaining.
03:36 It was fun.
03:37 But when you go home after 12 hours and you're soaking wet and you're cold all day, last
03:41 thing I want to do after being with those guys all day was to hang out with them and
03:45 have some drinks."
03:46 "Hurrah!
03:47 Yellow girl, don't let me go!
03:50 Don't let me go, me boy, don't let me go!"
03:53 There was more to Pattinson's misery than just physical discomfort.
03:57 The young actor put himself through intense training to portray Winslow, and arrived in
04:01 Halifax much earlier than his co-star in order to prepare.
04:04 He would wander the streets, muttering his lines to himself over and over in order to
04:08 get the right accent.
04:10 While he didn't completely commit to method acting, which is the tactic of staying in
04:13 character even after "cut" has been called, he nonetheless dedicated himself to the performance
04:18 a bit more intensely than the average actor.
04:20 In order to portray a man slowly unraveling, Pattinson would become a little unhinged himself.
04:25 In scenes where he's supposed to be drunk on kerosene, he said that he was, quote, "basically
04:30 unconscious the whole time."
04:31 He would make himself vomit, stumble, and even urinate in his trousers.
04:36 "Damn fool nonsense!"
04:38 In order to make himself move with discomfort, Pattinson put a rock inside one of his shoes.
04:43 Before his takes, he would spin himself around in circles to simulate being dizzy from drunkenness.
04:48 During one take, where Pattinson was leaning onto Faux and they're sort of slow dancing
04:52 together, he started making himself gag, and Eggers had to yell "cut."
04:56 Pattinson recalled the experience to Esquire, saying,
04:58 "There's a scene where Willem's kind of sleeping on me and we're really, really drunk, and
05:03 I felt like we were completely lost in the scene.
05:05 Then I'm sitting there trying to make myself gag, and Robert Eggers told me off because
05:09 Willem's looking at him going, 'If he throws up on me, I'm leaving the set.'
05:13 I had absolutely no idea this whole drama was unfolding."
05:16 For Pattinson, throwing himself entirely into the character was a way to escape his early
05:21 fame.
05:22 Instead of hiding from the paparazzi or adoring fans, he's able to be as wild and intense
05:26 as he wants on set, and that gives him the opportunity to not only escape from the world,
05:31 but himself.
05:32 He told Esquire,
05:33 "It's like being an adrenaline junkie.
05:35 When you don't know how to do something, why not just run headfirst into a wall, see what
05:39 happens?
05:40 I haven't got any other ideas."
05:41 After his difficult time filming The Lighthouse, it goes without saying that we're curious
05:46 what he'll put himself through next to satisfy his desire for more distinguished roles.
05:51 [music]