Robert Pattinson recalls ‘almost’ quitting acting amid COVID, strikes

Robert Pattinson was “almost” out of “acting”, but stayed.

The actor, in an interview with Vanity Fair, shared how he almost convinced himself that cinema was on the brink of collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent labor strikes in Hollywood. 

The actor revealed that during this challenging period, he questioned whether continuing his acting career made sense. 

However, a series of inspiring films, including the Oscar contender The Brutalist, reignited his passion for the art form. The Brutalist is directed by Brady Corbet, who previously collaborated with Pattinson on The Childhood of a Leader.

“It’s strange because the last few years for the film industry, starting with COVID and then the strikes, everyone was constantly saying cinema is dying. And quite convincingly,” Pattinson said. 

“I was literally almost turned off. It actually started to get a little worrying.”

He expressed his renewed excitement, noting the emergence of ambitious movies that have recently graced the industry. 

“Then looking in the last few months, there’s this flurry of very ambitious movies,” Pattinson continued. 

“I feel like the stuff that’s going to get nominated for Oscars this year is going to be really interesting, and it seems like there’s suddenly a new batch of directors who the audience is excited about as well.”

Pattinson is particularly hopeful for his upcoming film Mickey 17, a science-fiction black comedy directed by Bong Joon Ho, the visionary behind Parasite. He wishes for its release to coincide with what he describes as a “period of enthusiasm for cinema.” 

Reflecting on the recent past, he added, “You can even see in terms of scripts, I mean, every actor for two years was saying, ‘What is happening? Nothing’s cool.’"

"Not saying that everything that came out wasn’t cool, but actually it was very studio. I don’t know what was going on really, what happened in the Saturn return or whatever it is, but now there’s really cool parts everywhere.”

Looking ahead, Pattinson is set to return to the superhero genre with The Batman Part II, which is slated to begin shooting this year and aims for an October 2027 release date.