Robert Pattinson is having a stellar year. Back in April, the British actor joined Zendaya in the hard-hitting A24 movie The Drama, with the pair returning to the big screen in July for Christopher Nolan's fantasy epic The Odyssey. Next up, he tackles the lead role in the true-crime psychological thriller Primetime before embarking on a trip to Arrakis with Timothée Chalamet in Dune 3. Alongside these acclaimed, high-profile theatrical releases, he's also working on a big-budget superhero sequel you might've heard of… The Batman 2.
"To get these movies in the first place is awesome," exclaims an excited Pattinson, speaking exclusively to GamesRadar+ via Zoom from the UK. "And for them all to be working, I'm like, 'How is this happening?'"
The Tenet, Twilight and Good Time star unfurls a hearty laugh as he jumps up from his chair and accidentally hops off screen momentarily. "It's a miracle," he chuckles, his face breaking into a broad smile.
In Primetime, Pattinson is winning rave reviews – and early awards buzz – for his uncanny and rather unsettling performance as the presenter of the US true-crime show To Catch A Predator. Set in the early-2000s, this gritty biographical drama sees the actor embrace the role of Chris Hansen, complete with the American host's distinctive accent, vocal tics and physical mannerisms.
"Luckily, there's an enormous amount of footage [of Hansen]," Pattinson says about his research process. "But it's not about trying to be a holistic embodiment of him. I'm trying to play the Chris Hansen purely from the show."
The show in question – To Catch A Predator – ran from 2004 to 2008 as part of Dateline NBC. The hidden-camera series followed a string of undercover sting operations that endeavored to catch adult men seeking sex with minors. And despite it being off screen for close to two decades, the project continues to live on via social media, YouTube clips and online forums.
"There's a really unusual half-life that the show has had on the internet," explains Pattinson. "There are fan forums for To Catch A Predator that are so active now – and are still discussing these stings from 20 years ago. That's what I found really, really unique for something that's a news show. You know, this is not a fictional character. I tried to get as much of that information as possible into the performance and then turn it up to 11 to just see what happens."
With four major movie releases in 2026, we ask Pattinson if he finds it easy to switch between roles. Perhaps there will be a little Chris Hansen in his Dune: Part Three sci-fi character, Scytale?
"Probably not in Dune," he tells us. "I pretty much went directly to The Odyssey from the day I wrapped [Primetime]. Normally, I don't find it particularly difficult to go between accents – from my normal accent to whatever accent I'm doing. But I found Chris' accent – or my version of Chris' accent – so difficult to do that I was constantly practicing it all the time."
Pattinson is articulate and animated as he chats away about the twang of his Primetime character potentially turning up in a lavish Greek fantasy epic. "It was standard American in The Odyssey," he explains. "I definitely noticed there are some early scenes that I shot in Italy for The Odyssey where I'd almost forgotten what my standard American sounded like. There's definitely a little bit of crossover. I had to actually get a dialect coach to remind me of what the Mid-Atlantic accent sounded like."
One thing's for sure: Pattinson is in his prime.
Primetime is currently playing in US theaters and arrives on digital from November 3. In the UK, Primetime releases in cinemas on October 30, with select preview screenings from October 28. For more, here's our guide to the most exciting upcoming movies still to come in 2026, including Dune: Part Three
