Robert Pattinson on new film Primetime and how hunting predators became hit TV

Robert Pattinson on new film Primetime and how hunting predators became hit TV

Pattinson says 'Primetime' plot is 'most terrifying' thing that can happen to a parent

Robert Pattinson is enjoying a standout year.

The British actor has already appeared opposite Zendaya in The Drama and played an important part in the summer blockbuster The Odyssey.

His latest film, Primetime, however, sends him in a very different direction, with Pattinson playing the real-life host of the American TV program To Catch a Predator.

That series, which ran from 2004 to 2007, centered on tracking down alleged child abusers.

As a father for nearly three years now, Pattinson says the film’s storyline is especially troubling.

"It's both the most terrifying thing that can happen to you, whether you're a parent, or even if you're not," he told BBC News at the film's screening at London Film Festival.

"It's the most unimaginable sin possible," he added.

The new A24 crime thriller follows the show's host, NBC journalist Chris Hansen, as he conducts sting operations on would-be predators.

The program became a ratings success.

But it also raised concerns about where the boundary lies between investigative journalism, police work and reality television.

Speaking on Sunday night, Pattinson considered the show’s complicated legacy.

"The show was this kind of microcosm of saying, 'oh, we can do something about [child abuse], and we can do something about it really, really, really quickly," he said.

"And in some ways, that's correct, but it also makes for incredibly powerful TV, and that's when it gets into slightly dicey territory."

Robert Pattinson, who welcomed his first child with Suki Waterhouse in March 2024, says that as a parent, the events depicted in his new film are "terrifying"

When asked whether he believes attitudes toward entertainment have changed, Pattinson paused.

"I think on mainstream TV, but then it's just been replaced," he replied, noting that similar material has since moved onto social media.

"That's why I was interested in the show, because I could see the beginning of a new wave of 'predator catching' in pretty much the same format that it was in the early 2000s," he said. "And I was just interested as to why that was happening."

"And it got bigger and bigger and bigger, and now it's one of the most massive things on social media."

Hansen himself has criticized the film, describing it as "bizarre" and "detached from reality" in a video posted on X

Responding to those remarks, director Lance Oppenheim said: "I agree, that was by design.

"I always thought of this movie as more of a fever dream than something that was representational portrait."

Oppenheim added that there was something "ancient" about the urge to watch people being publicly punished.

"It's happened for thousands of years," he added. "I wanted to make something that interrogated that."

Pattinson, 40, became a major pin-up after playing vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight series, alongside American actress Kristen Stewart.

Before that, he won over younger fans as Hufflepuff hunk Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Since then, he has appeared in big-budget films such as Christopher Nolan's Tenet, along with a variety of unusual indie projects.

This year has been especially strong for him, with Dune: Part Three still ahead.

When asked when they would return to work, Pattinson gave little away ("We don't know yet, but yeah, working on it.")

Primetime has also sparked talk that this could be the year Pattinson earns his first Oscar nomination. Is that likely, I wonder?

"I am eternally grateful that I got these jobs," he responds.

"But then [to have] been able to even do them, this is one of the best years of my life."