James Dean: The Robert Pattinson of the ’50s

Everyone loves Robert Pattinson these days. The brooding look, the shelf of immaculate hair, the overall bad boy attitude and look. It’s all pretty cool. As awesome as RPattz is, though, he didn’t come up with either the look or the attitude, because as any fan of Hollywood can tell you, both were pioneered long before by the original source of all things cool. That source?

And tonight at 6PM you can pay tribute to the master, as TCM is airing the film that reshaped pop culture forever, “Rebel Without a Cause.”

Yes, the original ode to teenage angst is back and still as powerful as ever. You think Edward, Jacob and Bella have it rough? Well, take a look at the high stakes high school drama that the triangle of Jim (James Dean), Plato (Sal Mineo) and Judy (Natalie Wood) go through and you’ll see that simply being human can present as many problems as any vampire.

James Dean and “Rebel Without a Cause:” still the coolest after all these years. We think that’s something even RPattz himself would agree with.

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Robert Likes The 'Intensity' Of 'Remember Me'

By now, you've probably watched the "Eclipse" trailer a half-million times, eager to catch every last glimpse of Robert Pattinson. But don't forget that this weekend brings the chance to see the trailer on the big screen when it plays before showings of RPattz's new drama "Remember Me."

Still not enough Rob for you? Well, before you go see the movie this weekend, read on for an interview RPattz did with our friends at MTV Radio. In it, he spills the beans on playing a "Remember Me" rebel without a cause, his reasons for being brooding and wounded in real life, and why people like hitting him.

MTV: How do you like not biting someone?

Robert Pattinson: I bit people in this! [Laughs.] No, I didn't. It's different. I feel like I'm missing out on something, but it's a relief not having all that makeup on.

MTV: What attracted you to this role?

Pattinson: I read it after the first "Twilight" film, and I always liked it. It was always in the back of my mind. And then the opportunity came up between the second and third ones, which was a small period of time, so you can only do a certain type of movie. I was trying to remember all the little things I'd read, and this was perfect, and it didn't need any real prep time or anything. There was something different about it. It didn't fit into a typical teen movie, and it seemed quite realistic.

MTV: People say you remind them of James Dean. Do you count him as an influence?

Pattinson: I think James Dean was one of the most influential people on young guys — especially actors — definitely in the last 50 years. I'm not ashamed to say I am very much influenced by him.

MTV: This character bears many similar traits to Edward Cullen. Are you worried about being typecast at all?

Pattinson: Maybe I am brooding and wounded, and I'm just realizing it. [Laughs.] No, I'm not. You take little steps [as you go from role to role]. I'm always quite aware of how people are going to view things, and you have to go halfway. If I did something playing a 400-pound woman, people are going to judge it a bit more harshly than other people who've been doing character parts for 20 years. All the projects I'm doing, I'm not doing in a calculated way, but they seem like little baby steps towards other things. What I'm doing now is intensity — I like that. It's what I like in characters.

MTV: This film deals with some violent, random acts. Is there something you were able to bring from your past to this role?

Pattinson: It was more about the reactions after, about how [my character] dealt with random events. ... He has a blasé attitude, even when it's him who is harmed. I always related to that; looking back in the past and having grudges and things, I don't really do that. But the violence and things, the way his violence comes out, it's illogical and it's not against legitimate targets. I related to that — when you have a spasm of rage, it goes almost every time through the wrong target and causes more problems. It's better to keep it chained up.

MTV: There's a scene where you go pretty crazy in a schoolroom, opposite a young actress.

Pattinson: There was one take of that they had to cut out, because it looked like I'd not only be in jail for vandalism, but for child abuse as well! I spun the desk around and the desk fell over, and she literally ran away out of the classroom! I was supposed to continue on with the scene, but I was like, "Oh my God, I'm actually going to get arrested!" She looked absolutely terrified afterwards.

MTV: You've said that you have been beaten up a few times. Who beat you up?

Pattinson: A lot of people, when I was younger. I was a bit of an idiot, always unprovoked — in my eyes, anyways.

MTV: Was it a school-bully thing?

Pattinson: No, it was after school, generally. Like, after I first started acting and I liked to behave like an actor — or what I thought was an actor — it generally provoked a lot of people into hitting me.


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