Joey Magidson
As I’ve said on several occasions, Robert Pattinson is a perfect case study in what a young actor should do after making it big in a franchise. Sure, he came to fame in the Twilight series, which admittedly wasn’t much of a strain on his talents, but once that ended, he almost exclusively sought out unique auteurs. Much like former co-star Kristen Stewart, the turn towards the independent has paid dividends. Stewart is now an Academy Award nominee, while it won’t be long until Pattinson joins her. This weekend, he now has The Drama in theaters, where he’s paired up with Zendaya and filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli. Combine that with Mickey 17, his collaboration with no less than Bong Joon Ho, from the first part of last year, as well as Die My Love with Jennifer Lawrence and Lynne Ramsay late in 2025, it feels like a perfect time to take one more look at his work so far.
In my review earlier in the week of The Drama (here), I wrote about Pattinson like so:
Robert Pattinson is having a good time playing a meek man, though the script doesn’t add much in the way of layering to that, especially as he starts making absurd decisions in the back half of the movie. Their happier moments feature some excellent rom com style chemistry, while their awkward and strained ones find the cringe comedy in it all.
From my review last year of Die My Love (here), I said the following about Pattinson:
Robert Pattinson is very strong as well, though it’s notably a background performance in some ways, absolutely by design. Still, Pattinson is such an hypnotic actor, watching him even just in Grace’s peripherals is still compulsively watchable. Pattinson makes Jackson a frustrating character, but always one you’re fascinated by, especially in terms of his volatile chemistry with Lawrence.
Previously in 2025, I had this to say about Pattinson in Mickey 17 (reviewed here):
Robert Pattinson is having a lot of fun with the multiple roles aspect of this production. The unusual voice he gives Mickey 17 is more annoying than anything else, but it’s undeniably a choice. Still, it’s good work overall, with a playful quality to his various incarnations of Mickey.
Below, you can see how I currently stack up Pattinson’s top turns. Your mileage may definitely vary here, and I think I actually have yet to see the true Pattinson performance that will stand the test of time as my favorite. At the moment, however, it’s Good Time, which helped to make me a big believer in his skills. The Rover is another deeply underrated one that deserves more eyeballs on it. The future is bright for Pattinson, that much is clear. He has a chance to end up as one of the greats, in fact. More evidence of that was seen last year with Mickey 17 as well as with Die My Love, and can currently be seen in theaters with The Drama.
Here is how I would rank the best Robert Pattinson performances to date, updated to now include The Drama. Behold:
Honorable Mention: The Devil All the Time, The Drama, Maps to the Stars, Tenet, and Waiting for the Barbarians
10. High Life
9. Cosmopolis
8. The King
7. Die My Love
6. Mickey 17
5. The Lost City of Z
4. The Batman
3. The Lighthouse
2. The Rover
1. Good Time
What are your favorite performances from Robert Pattinson? Let us know!
It’s probably not getting a theatrical release until next year, but I’m very interested in how he’ll tell us to go ahead and just take a seat, right over there, in Primetime. Which he’s also producing!
Could go either way, in terms of release date, but definitely one to keep an eye on…