Robert Pattinson at Mickey 17 premiere: Being a dad makes life 'more fun'
2025-02-14
Category: entertainment

Robert Pattinson has said becoming a dad has made life "more fun".The British actor, 38, and singer Suki Waterhouse, 33, welcomed their first child last March.Speaking at the London premiere for dark sci-fi film Mickey 17, Pattinson told BBC News he had expected to feel "less danger prone" after the birth of his daughter, but he has instead found "it's very joyful"."If someone told me I was going to die in a week, I'd be like, 'What? I want to spend some more time with my kid'," he said, before laughing: "That's a very deep answer."
Pattinson is starring in the new film from Parasite director Bong Joon-ho.Based on the 2022 novel Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton, it is about a financially destitute man who signs up to be an "expendable" crew member on a dangerous mission to colonise an ice world.Every time he dies, he's cloned, with his memories intact.BBC News has not yet seen the film, but production notes and clips shared online indicate it raises bigger questions about life, mortality and memory.At the world premiere at London's Leicester Square, fans - primarily young female ones - screamed at the sight of the heartthrob, known to many as "R-Patz".
Mia, 23, and Ellie, 22, said they'd waited hours in the just above zero temperatures to see him. "We've been fans for years," Mia said.Another fan, Jia, had a fluorescent sign, which read, "I love you R-Patz", in a bid to catch the star's attention.Pattinson became something of a pin-up after playing vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight series, alongside American actress Kristen Stewart.Before that, he stole young hearts as Hufflepuff hunk Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.Since then, he has starred in major films including The Batman and Christopher Nolan's Tenet, as well as a range of eccentric, indie films.So has he done enough to distance himself from the brooding vampire role that made his name?"I think every part is hopefully still a part of you," he said."It's insane to me that people still talk about it, I mean, Twilight was a long time ago. And the fact that people are still talking about it means we did something right."
Bong Joon-ho is back
Mickey 17 is written and directed by Bong Joon-ho, one of South Korea's most celebrated film directors.His black comedy Parasite, released in 2019, made history by becoming the first non-English-language film to win best picture at the Oscars.The film, a vicious social satire about two families from very different classes, also took home three other Oscar statuettes at the awards show that year - including best international feature.Parasite is considered by many to be one of the greatest best picture winners of this century so far, and there has been huge anticipation to see how Bong could possibly follow it up."We worked very hard on it," Bong said of Mickey 17.
"The actors are incredible, there are amazing performances... I'm excited for everyone to see that."He said the message of the film was a simple one. "Whether it's the future, or going into outer space, humans must live genuinely human lives," he said.The director also said he had a positive outlook on the future of South Korean filmmaking and TV."They're already popular, but they're going to become even more popular. I'm very optimistic."The new film also stars American actors Mark Ruffalo and Beef star Steven Yeun, as well as British Star Wars actress Naomi Ackie, and Australian star Toni Collette.Ruffalo told BBC News it was the prospect of working with Bong that attracted him to the project."He's just one of the greatest auteurs living today, his style, his voice, his visuals, his casting."Collette agreed, saying she was "still pinching myself". "I think he's an incredible filmmaker and it doesn't get any better, he's just endlessly creative."
'Call me what you like'
While plenty of fans have been desperate to see Bong and Pattinson's collaboration, it's Pattinson's voice in the film that has been going viral online."For a second, I thought it was a different actor speaking," wrote one YouTube user. "Robert Pattinson doing another weird freaky little accent," wrote another.Pattinson is no stranger to putting on different accents, but he said he wasn't entirely sure what inspired the one he used in Mickey 17."It was sort of based on some cartoons, sort of based in England and trying to do an American accent when there are no Americans around, there are just Koreans and English people around," he mused.As we spoke, fans could be heard shouting "R-Patz" at him from across the red carpet.He's previously spoken about how much he hates that nickname, so I'm curious to know - what does he make of it now?"I think the older you get, you can call me whatever you want. It's fine," he laughed.Mickey 17 is released in UK cinemas on 7 MarchAdditional reporting by Emmanuella Alausa.