Robert Pattinson talks about exploiting his anxiety, ambitious films and why he’s not interested in space travel

by Robert Pattinson The star has returned to orbit. Before returning to the big screen on March 7 Mickey 17, a sci-fi dark comedy from the Oscar-winning filmmaker Bong Joon Ho, he appears as a sexy Everyman in the new Dior Homme campaign.

Pattinson became globally famous in the year Twilight series, and that sense of vampirism — dark, moody, mysterious — defined his early days in the spotlight. But when he appears on Zoom in a Supreme hoodie, his hair spiking in every direction, it all seems to rest more gently on his shoulders. “Everyone suffers from imposter syndrome to some degree, but for many years I was very envious of people who I thought felt very comfortable in their own skin, especially when they perform. Why can’t I feel the same? Maybe it’s just natural and I wish I was like that, blah blah blah. It took me a long time to try to get rid of the anxiety,” he said Vanity fair. “And I guess after many years of doing something, you realize, oh, you can’t really escape anxiety, but you can turn it around and use it as energy. My insecurities about everything as a performer became the radar that helped me know what to do.”

After working with Dior for more than 10 years, Pattinson even became the face of a perfume. “I was very clear about what I wanted to do the first time [campaign] because I really knew what I didn’t want to do: look into the camera, a sexy perfume,” he says with a laugh. “So it has this energy that you’re fighting against. I kind of enjoyed it a little bit more so I guess it had more of a sensual feel. It feels more mature. There’s a romanticism to it, which is quite sweet.”

As both the campaign and his next film began to take off, Pattinson spoke to Vanity fair about taking on the mantle of Dior, facing self-doubt and—rest assured, Olivia Rodrigo And dirt—why he has no desire to go to Mars.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

You admit in the campaign video that you don’t know much about perfume. Have you gained anything from working with Dior over the past decade?

I actually got a press note about this and I couldn’t do it. I cannot say that convincingly. Even as I’m saying it to Francis [Kurkdjian, Dior perfume creation director] Behind the scenes, someone with such talent and insight into scent said, “What do you think it smells like?” I was like, “Good, I think it smells like…” And he said, “What are you talking about? That’s not even what it smells like. [Laughs] But what I like about this new scent is that it has intimacy. I really don’t like scents that as soon as you walk into the room, people say, oh, you’re wearing perfume. There’s something here that blends with your natural scent. It’s not massively annoying. It’s more of an aura thing.

For the campaign video, you compiled the motorcycling skills you’ve learned Batman. How does the choreography—riding a horse on a beach while a woman sits on his back and faces you—compare to other on-screen stunts you’ve done?

Firstly, it’s very difficult to look cool wearing a motorbike helmet, especially when you and your lover are both wearing helmets so you’re shaking, headbutting each other. There’s really no way to make this look cool. Trying to ride a motorbike on a beach with wet sand is impossible. And it was also Arctic temperatures, with cold winds blowing in the face. It was a real test of my Blue Steel face’s endurance.