Robert Pattinson received flak for withholding information about his workout routine in preparation for his Bruce Wayne debut in last year's The Batman.
While promoting The Batman–directed and co-written by Matt Reeves–Pattinson claimed he didn't get ripped to play the dark vigilante, which peeved his personal trainer.
In a GQ interview, the actor—who became famous for the Twilight movies following his memorable performance in 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire—said he didn't want his Batman to look like a "CrossFit member."
He added:
“I think if you’re working out all the time, you’re part of the problem. You set a precedent."
"No one was doing this in the ’70s. Even James Dean—he wasn’t exactly ripped."
“Literally, I’m just barely doing anything.”
Two years later, he walked back those comments that got him into trouble.
“That really came back to haunt me," he told MovieMaker.
"I just always think it’s really embarrassing to talk about how you’re working out."
"I think it’s like an English thing."
"Unless you are in the most unbelievable shape, where people are just genuinely curious, going, ‘How have you achieved, like, physical perfection?’ or whatever.”
He clarified:
“I just always think it’s really embarrassing to talk about how you’re working out. You’re playing Batman. You have to work out.”
According to Variety, Pattinson recently told the Evening Standard in a new cover story:
"I got in so much trouble for saying that I don’t work out, even from my trainer, who was like, ‘Why would you say that?'”
While discussing how difficult it is for him to work on roles that affect his physique, Pattinson called out "insidious" body standards facing men both in and out of Hollywood.
“Even if you’re just watching your calorie intake, it’s extraordinarily addictive," he said of actors going through potentially harmful workout regimen as part of preparing for roles.
"You don’t quite realize how insidious it is until it’s too late."
Pattinson then admitted he:
“Basically tried every fad you can think of, everything except consistency.”
The 36-year-old's strict dieting for the sake of his craft included keto–which he admitted to not liking for its requirement of excluding a particular alcoholic beverage.
“I was like, ‘Oh, there’s a diet where you just eat charcuterie boards and cheese all the time?’"
"But I didn’t realize that you can’t have beer as it completely defeats the purpose."
He also tried a strictly all-spud diet that led to very visible results.
"I once ate nothing but potatoes for two weeks, as a detox. Just boiled potatoes and Himalayan pink salt."
"Apparently, it’s a cleanse… you definitely lose weight.”
Pattinson is currently filming for Bong Joon-Ho’s Mickey 17–a follow-up to the director's Academy Award-winning 2019 film, Parasite, which became the first non-English film to win Best Picture.
Mickey 17 is slated for a March 2024 release.
