Robert Pattinson Once Shared ‘Twilight’ Was More ‘Volatile’ Behind the Scenes Than Harry Potter

Although Robert Pattinson had a short role in Harry Potter, the actor created very fond memories on set of the wizard franchise. But comparing it to his time on Twilight, Pattinson found the vampire series was far more tense and combative behind the scenes than Harry Potter.

Robert Pattinson found playing Cedric Diggory terrifying

Fairly new to the world of franchise films and blockbusters, Pattinson found starring in Harry Potter a frightening experience. He was tasked to do things in the film that had never been asked of the young actor before.

“I’d sort of fallen into it. I mean, it was so terrifying. I remember the first scene I ever shot on that was in the magical maze at the end, and I’d never done anything with special effects and stunts. It was a big deal, at the time,” Pattinson told GQ.

He was so dedicated to his role, however, that he read a book on method acting to help ensure a good performance.

“It felt very, very intimidating,” he continued. “I think I’d read a book on method acting. The only thing I really got out of that was just beating yourself up before every single scene. That was basically my only concept of how to prepare myself for a scene. I was psyching myself up as if I was going into a fight or something before these scenes. And just screaming into a pillow and punching myself.”

Robert Pattinson felt the ‘Twilight’ crew was much more ‘volatile’ than ‘Harry Potter’

Despite his nervousness going into Harry Potter, Pattinson has often shared he had a pleasant experience on set. What helped was that there was a sense of closeness the crew had that allowed the film to run smoothly.

“When I went into Harry Potter it was the fourth one, everybody knew each other. The crew had been working together for 10 years… people had married each other! Everything was so well oiled,” Pattinson once said according to Pop Sugar.

But things were different in Twilight, where the crew was a bit more competitive at first.

“Starting Twilight, I don’t know if it would be like the first Harry Potter, but it’s interesting to see there’s so many different warring energies. The studio knew they had a trilogy at the time so it seemed like people think that certain criteria need to meet to set up that kind of franchise,” he continued.

After the first Twilight film, however, Pattinson revealed everyone was able to get on the same page for the sequels.

“Catherine obviously had an indie background, me and Kristen really had strong people, so it was a very volatile set in a lot of ways. But the success of the first one made everything clear for the second,” he said.

How ‘Harry Potter’ prepared Robert Pattinson for his ‘Twilight’ experience

Pattinson has often commented about how overwhelming his Twilight fame could be. But he already had a taste of fame in Harry Potter, which taught him a lesson about being famous. Pattinson realized that the buzz of his fame will simmer down eventually, and it was a comforting thought.

“Having it die down afterward. Having it being the hot thing for a few months and then it just going and no one giving a s***. It helps. It helps once you get used to it and know that no one will care. Once you’re immune to failure it’s like nothing matters,” he once told Collider.