Ten Things You Never Knew About Robert Pattinson

By Alex Fletcher

Whether you know him as vampire hunk Edward Cullen from Twilight or as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter, one thing's for certain about Robert Pattinson - you are bound to know a female that adores him. The London-born actor has become one of Hollywood's hottest young stars thanks to his chiseled good looks, impressive eyebrows and versatile skills as a thespian. His latest project as Salvador Dalí in Little Ashes is released later this week and in tribute we have compiled ten fascinating facts that you probably never knew about the hunky heartthrob.

1. Robert was born on May 13, 1986. His mum Clare was a modelling agency worker, while his dad Richard imported vintage cars from America.

2. Stardom beckoned from a young age for Robert. He started working as a model at the age of 12 and was apparently very successful because he "looked like a girl". "I got lots of jobs, because it was during that period where the androgynous look was cool," he says.

3. Pattinson almost turned down his most famous role as Edward Cullen in Twilight because the character was to "perfect" to live up to. He said: "The initial reaction [from fans] was 100% 'he's completely wrong for the role'. And I agreed with them."

4. Growing up with two older sisters (Lizzy and Victoria), Robert claims that he was terrorised as a child. "Up until I was 12 my sisters used to dress me up as a girl and introduce me as Claudia!" It was only after he moved to a mixed school and "discovered hair gel" that he became the swish cool thespian we know today.

5. Fame and showbiz obviously run in the Pattinson family genes. because Rob's older sibling Lizzy is a talented singer. Discovered by EMI when she was only 18, she already has two top 20 hits under her belt with 'Dreaming' and 'The Day It Rained Forever'. Don't worry, we've never heard of them either!

6. 2008 turned out to be quite a year for Robert. Twilight brought him to the attention of a million screaming teenage girls and won him a whopping great pile of awards. Yahoo's Top Movie Heartthrob, Rolling Stone's Hottest Actor, Entertainment Tonight's Top Hunk, LA Times's Breakout Star and Forbes's Breakout Star are just a few of his accolades.

7. Who was Robert's acting idol when he was growing up? Quite scarily, it was Jack Nicholson's role as R. P. McMurphy in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest that inspired him to become a movie star. "I used to try and be him in virtually everything I did, I don't know why. I watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest when I was about 13, and I dressed like him. I tried to do his accent. I did everything like him. I think it kind of stuck with me."

8. As well as being a successful actor, singer and model, Pattinson can also count being a trained scuba diver on his extensive list of talents. He learnt the skill for his role as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.

9. To impress the producers at the Harry Potter auditions, Pattinson made up that he was a big fan of football and snowboarding. He's apparently more of a darts and pool man.

10. Playing dashing hunks in two of the biggest film franchises of all time does come with a price - crazy fans! "I get letters that say 'I'm going to kill myself if you don't watch High School Musical 2 with me'," he says. "It's a little nuts."

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