Robert Pattinson was juggling two massive Warner Bros. projects at the same time in 2019, and he almost got away with it.
While filming ‘Tenet‘, the actor quietly tried to slip off set for a secret screen test for ‘Batman‘ that could change his career forever. But the man running the set, Christopher Nolan, spotted the truth almost instantly. And, his reaction was legendary.
Christopher Nolan Immediately Called Out Robert Pattinson’s Escape For ‘Batman’
During early filming of ‘Tenet‘ in 2019, Pattinson was secretly preparing for Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman‘. The audition was extremely confidential, and he couldn’t openly tell Nolan he needed time off. So he tried a cover story.
Pattinson claimed he told ‘The Dark Knight‘ trilogy director he had a “family emergency” and needed to leave the set for a short time. The problem was that Nolan saw right through it.
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Pattinson recalled Nolan’s answer: “You’re doing the Batman audition, aren’t you?” The actor admitted he had been forced to lie because both projects required total secrecy, but Nolan figured it out immediately anyway. Pattinson found the situation funny because Nolan keeps his own movies extremely private.
After his plan failed within seconds, Pattinson refrained from asking any advice from Nolan, who said he was “thrilled” that the actor had landed the coveted role. “We kept a respectful silence around the issue ’til very near the end of the shoot. We said a couple of things and made a couple of jokes. We did have a little bit of a conversation about the various aspects of what he was going to be putting himself through,” Nolan stated.
How One Bold Risk Changed Pattinson’s Career
Around that time, Warner Bros. had narrowed the role down to a very small group. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Armie Hammer, and Nicholas Hoult were all reportedly contenders to replace Ben Affleck. The studio officially announced Pattinson as Batman on May 31, 2019. However, the news leaked two weeks early. Pattinson didn’t take it lightly and said he was “f—ing furious” that the reveal happened before he was ready.
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Preparing for Batman unexpectedly helped him on ‘Tenet‘. He often had to run beside co-star John David Washington, a former NFL player. Pattinson joked that his normal workout is basically a casual walk, while Washington could run endlessly. Early on, the training was so tough that some days he could barely walk afterward, but he admitted the fitness boost ultimately helped his performance.
The challenges didn’t stop at running. Nolan shot massive practical action scenes, including a freeway sequence filmed across miles of road in Estonia with hundreds of cars. Nolan told them to follow a camera vehicle and take it easy at first. Washington then asked Pattinson if he was actually a good driver, right before he had to drive between cars at around 80 miles per hour.
Pattinson admitted he was terrified, while Nolan acted like everything was completely normal. ‘Tenet‘ was later delayed three times during the pandemic before releasing internationally.
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