While Robert Pattinson has had a long and varied career in Hollywood so far, he will likely always be known first and foremost for his work on the Twilight movies. It seems that’s even the case for Bong Joon-ho, who directs Pattinson in the new film Mickey 17. One can imagine that the director had many questions for the actor before casting him, but apparently one of the most important was, just what is his real skin tone?
In a new video for GQ, Bong Joon-ho and Robert Pattinson hilariously discussed the proper pronunciation of the word “magenta,” but also talked about the actor’s pale Twilight look. It seems Bong was curious whether Pattinson was truly so pale. Check out the clip below.
Post by @gqView on Threads
Robert Pattinson’s inability to pronounce “magenta” notwithstanding, this is actually a really interesting conversation because it shows the level of detail that Bong Joon-ho considers when casting his movies. He appears to be legitimately interested in Pattinson’s skin tone and the way it changed drastically between two movies. He said…
The first time I saw you was in Twilight and your skin tone there made me realy curious what your actual skin tone was. But then, in the Safdie Brothers’ Good Time, your skin tone was totally different. So I wondered which of the two was closer to your actual skin tone.
Obviously, when filming the Twilight movie, they went with the fairly traditional pale vampire look (with the occasional sparkly skin). But that doesn’t mean the look was entirely done with makeup or color correction. Maybe part of the reason Pattinson joined the Twilight cast was because his skin was already so pale. It’s possible that his skin tone was more unnatural in other films.
It’s not just a semantic question. An actor's skin tone when combined with how a director plans to shoot a movie is going to impact things like lighting and makeup decisions. Maybe getting an actor with a particular skin tone is key to casting the role in the first place. Even if not, it potentially impacts other elements of the filmmaking.
It seems Bong Joon-ho wasn’t entirely sure what Robert Pattinson’s skin tone was until the first time the two met to discuss the film. The director said…
And so when we met for the first time in LA. for Mickey 17, I remember seeing you right when you walked into the cafe, and I thought, ‘Okay, that’s it. That’s Mickey’s skin tone.’
As somebody who has seen Mickey 17, I can’t say I was particularly focused on Robert Pattinson’s skin tone. Instead, it was Pattinson's great performance in a very good sci-fi movie that I appreciated, and others almost certainly will as well.
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