Robert Pattinson has opened up about what he realized about Chris Hansen whereas portraying the controversial tv journalist in Primetime. Directed by Lance Oppenheim, the psychological thriller revisits the making of the hit actuality tv present, which confronted suspected little one predators on digital camera.
For Pattinson, the function introduced a possibility to discover a persona whose public picture raised questions on what would possibly lie beneath the floor.
Robert Pattinson reveals what made Chris Hansen so fascinating to play
Throughout a Q&A with Official Pop Drop on the BFI London Movie Pageant, Robert Pattinson was requested whether or not enjoying Chris Hansen had helped him perceive the journalist higher and what he would wish to focus on with him in the event that they met right this moment.
What fascinated Pattinson was Hansen’s expertise and the best way he dealt with the extraordinary conditions he encountered over years of investigative tv. He additionally discovered himself curious in regards to the distinction between Hansen’s composed on-camera persona and the individual he is likely to be away from the highlight.
“He is truly like appears very levelheaded. He is very levelheaded about his understanding of issues, which is what made me so occupied with it as a result of I all the time simply wish to know if somebody’s poised on a regular basis on digital camera, what do they like after they’re not on digital camera?,” he stated.

Credit: A24
Credit: A24
Pattinson described how portraying somebody doesn’t essentially imply totally understanding them. As a substitute, he in contrast the method to making a portrait, explaining that he tried to place himself in Hansen’s sneakers whereas specializing in the points of his persona that him.
And whereas Pattinson was busy getting inside Hansen’s head for Primetime, the dialog on the London pageant additionally turned to one thing followers of the actor know all too properly: his different, significantly extra well-known alter ego.
Lance Oppenheim sees a bit Batman in Primetime
Throughout the identical Q&A, an interviewer remarked that the best way Robert Pattinson is dressed right this moment makes him look extra like Batman than ever earlier than. Somewhat than dismissing the comparability, director Lance Oppenheim embraced it, explaining that he had approached sure scenes with the Caped Crusader in thoughts.
Oppenheim stated he thought-about Primetime a type of superhero film, significantly when Hansen confronts folks through the present’s sting operations. He drew inspiration from the Tim Burton-era Batman movies starring Michael Keaton, noting the distinction between Batman’s stoicism and Bruce Wayne’s extra eccentric, aloof persona.
“I wished it to really feel like uh type of just like the Tim Burton Batman films or Michael Keaton,” he stated.

The Batman (2022) – filmstill ROBERT PATTINSON as Batman The Batman (2022)
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The Batman (2022) – filmstill ROBERT PATTINSON as Batman The Batman (2022)
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Oppenheim additional defined that he wished to channel components of that distinction into Pattinson’s portrayal of Hansen, whose composed tv presence conceals a extra difficult character.
“I like that there was one thing we might do. We might channel one thing collectively,” the director stated, praising Pattinson’s interpretation.
Whereas The Batman Half II is paused for now, it appears that evidently it doesn’t wish to go away Pattinson wherever. Primetime, directed by Lance Oppenheim, is against the law thriller starring Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen, the journalist behind To Catch a Predator. Set in 2006, the movie explores Hansen’s efforts to make tv historical past and the moral questions surrounding his controversial present. It was launched in US theaters on September 25, 2026.
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