It was goodbye New York as Robert Pattinson hit the West Coast yesterday for an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live . And let’s just say he was in good spirits.
There are a number of reasons for that.
The actor is getting the best reviews of his career for his lead performance in his latest film Cosmopolis. There’s also the fact that since its release on Friday the David Cronenberg directed film noir racked up the highest per-theater box-office average , and will now play in 60 theaters across the U.S as opposed to 24 (the number previously scoped.)
Yes, despite the best efforts of the media to turn the Cosmopolis press blitz into a sympathy-fest about that scandal (and an opportunity for a root around in Pattinson’s head), the 26-year-old Brit has stayed on point and kept the focus firmly on Cosmopolis .
That is, until he went on Jimmy Kimmel Live .
Approximately 732, 000 people applied for tickets to the taping of the show, and, judging by the welcome the studio audience gave Pattinson when he walked out, the ones that made the cut were fairly excited to be there.
Rocking a Kenzo shirt, American Eagle skinny jeans and that hair, Pattinson completed his ensemble with blue (OK, indigo), suede shoes. He then proceeded to turn the air blue. In a good way, but more of that later.
Reminded by host Kimmel that he was de facto “homeless” the last time he was on the show Pattinson’s response was:
“Still am.”
After no doubt setting off reams of internet speculation with that red-herring remark, Pattinson explained:
“No, I rented this archway and I just live behind it. In one of those big trash cans.”
After revealing his love for a good bargain —“I buy everything off Craigslist, everything, my friends, that’s what I was initially looking on it for,” and that he was selling his 2001 Silverado truck — the conversation turned to “dogging.” For those that don’t know, that’s English slang for the illegal act of driving to secluded areas to have sex with strangers. It’s usually, but not always, practiced by men.
How we got there was a classic, meandering Pattinson tale about how he’d been cycling for about three months with his assistant wearing “little shorts with the little padding” and inadvertently stumbled across an infamous “dogging spot” in a parking lot in L.A.
“I used to turn up at this parking lot looking at everyone like, ‘Why are all these guys sitting around in their cars all the time?,” Pattinson joked. “And I’m going there everyday kinda thinking nothing of it, coming out in my little Lycra pants, and one day there was a big raid.”
Next, Kimmel dragged four college girls (via Skype) into the show. After a clothes swap task, Pattinson suggested the girls attempt to bring back the “dirtiest underwear.” Things got even saltier when the actor started talking about Cosmopolis.
Detailing a scene in the film where his character — Eric Packer, a billionaire currency trader — undergoes a prostrate exam in a limousine. Pattinson joked,
“It was a four finger prostrate exam … it’s more of a f*****g.” [Hint: It’s not the usual F-word.]
It’s been a rollercoaster two months for the actor even by Hollywood standards, but, if his appearance last night is anything to go by, Robert Pattinson is doing just fine without a publicist.
Already released in New York and L.A, Cosmopolis will play in these US theaters from August 24. Adapted from Don DeLillo’s 2003 novel of the same name, Cosmopolis follows Eric Packer, a disaffected, billionaire financier on 24 wild hours as he crosses an imploding Manhattan in a white limo. Pursued by an anonymous assassin, a pie-provocateur, and his own existential demons, Packer’s search for a haircut is really a search for meaning in a world that has none. Paul Giamatti, Juliet Binoche, Samantha Morton, Sarah Gadon, Mathieu Amalric, Emily Hampshire, Kevin Durand, Patricia McKenzie and Jay Baruchel also star. Distributed by Entertainment One Films U.S.