ROBERT PATTINSON
Date of Birth: May 13, 1986
Born in London, England, Robert Pattinson was bitten by the acting bug when, at age 15, he became involved with the Barnes Theatre Company. After taking on several acting roles onstage, Pattinson made his mainstream debut in the made-for-television movie Ring of the Nibelungs (2004), where he caught the attention of director Mira Nair.
Nair offered the still unknown British actor a bit part in her 2004 Vanity Fair adaptation, but Pattinson's scenes were later deleted and only appear on the DVD version. Pattinson's bad luck continued when he was fired from the 2005 UK Royal Court Theatre premiere of The Woman Before, shortly before opening night.
But Pattinson rebounded strongly—and got redemption—later that year when he landed a supporting role as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Pattinson, still virtually unknown in Hollywood, was the first person to audition for the sought-after role and was offered the part only a week later. His portrayal of the Hogwarts heartthrob made Pattinson a world-wide star and catapulted him to celebrity status.
Following his stint as Cedric Diggory, Pattinson was named 2005's "British Star of Tomorrow" by Times Online and has been dubbed "the next Jude Law" by Teen People.
Pattinson's newfound success in Hollywood landed him the coveted role of Edward in the highly-anticipated screen adaptation of Stephenie Meyers' bestselling vampire romance book series, Twilight. Since then, he's gone on to be an international superstar, reprising his role in The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010). In fact, he works nonstop—in between Twilight movies, he's also played starring roles in Bel Ami with Christina Ricci, Remember Me with Emilie de Ravin and Water for Elephants opposite Reese Witherspoon. He is dating his Twilight co-star, Kristen Stewart.