Is Robert Pattinson Bad for Your Daughter?
Why the ‘Twilight’ star is outgrowing his PG-13 fan base


Robert Pattinson broke into the U.S. market as Cedric Diggory in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” the fourth of the wildly popular “Harry Potter” movies. He had a short but powerful role as a superstar Quidditch player who met his untimely end at the hands of one of Lord Voldemort’s wizards. But out of Diggory’s ashes rose a new Robert Pattinson who would become an American craze.


People didn’t get wound up into a frenzy over Cedric Diggory in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” If only we could have seen into the young actor’s future, we’d have learned that he was to become one of Hollywood’s hottest up-and-coming stars. Who’s that Harry guy, anyway? Pattinson’s subsequent role in “The Twilight Saga” launched the now-23-year-old to megastardom and heartthrob status amongst millions of teen girls. So far, so good. It seems like he’s got the makings of a perfectly acceptable teen idol, right? Maybe; maybe not.


Now the actor is branching out with the hope that he can prove he’s got acting chops beyond the worlds of wizards and werewolves. His romantic drama, “Remember Me,” will hit theaters on March 12, and we’ll get a real taste of a mortal Robert. He plays a disturbed young man whose love affair with free-spirited Ally (Emilie de Ravin) is tested by dark secrets.


If fans (and/or parents) are a little conflicted by this acting departure, then they were fully torn by his provocative interview and photo spread in the February issue of Details Magazine (which is, for all intents and purposes, rated R). As a mom, I was definitely thrown for a loop! Before the issue came out, I could understand the appeal Pattinson had with teenage girls. He seemed like a good guy to have a crush on. So Pattinson’s not exactly the Shaun Cassidy of my childhood (and yes, I had the light blue, satin roller-skating jacket with his picture and autograph silkscreened on the back!). But Pattinson is young and attractive, he plays an enchanting character — I get it. But somehow, on his journey to “Twilight” uber-fame, Pattinson went from fresh-faced, cute, and boyish to mysterious, virile, and ultra-masculine.


The Details photos border on soft-porn with lots of naked women in situations Cedric Diggory wouldn’t conceive of. And worse, it would make any parent squirm to see their teenage daughter flipping through the pages of this issue (although, I’d have to question the parent who lets their kid read Details). The photos are beautiful, artistic and a little retro. It’s the accompanying interview that made me rethink this guy and the stability of his status as a heartthrob among understandably wide-eyed teen girls. Pattinson tells Details, “I really hate vaginas. I’m allergic to vagina.” He apparently got tired of hanging out with naked girls for hours on end and was grateful to be hung over that day. He even talks (or maybe jokes?) about doing the interview in some sort of S&M horse-type contraption. Many actors have a reputation for being eccentric, creative, right-brain thinkers. He didn’t exactly dispel the stereotype in Details.


Alternately, the whole bizarre interview and photos definitely put a deep freeze on any warm fuzzy thoughts I had of teenage daughters around the country innocuously plastering posters of Pattinson all over their bedroom walls! It’s caused me to get a little hung up on this golden-boy-turned-porn-star sex symbol. I’m cool with sex symbols. He is undeniably sexy. I realize as I say that about a 23-year-old guy that it sounds a little creepy. But, I think it might be just as creepy to have a 13-year-old girl fawning all over a guy who’s posing with multiple naked women. It seems for the teens who consider themselves to be on Team Edward that they’ve lost a little something: the innocence of their idol.


Maybe that’s just the natural evolution of an actor. Shaun couldn’t stay a Hardy Boy forever investigating jewel robberies. Britney Spears couldn’t keep her braids and school uniform while trying to market herself to a more grown-up audience. And Pattinson won’t stay a vampire immortally (except on-screen). The transformation is understandable, but it’s too bad, because it seems like these guys make an awfully short stop on innocent teen-idol island before traveling to a more global and edgy audience. The actors outgrow their fans long before their fans have a chance to outgrow them.


Take heart, the Details stuff and a new movie don’t mean that Pattinson has shed his vampire persona. Not even close. “New Moon” came out last November and “Eclipse” is scheduled for a late June release. “Breaking Dawn” is in pre-production. No, he’s not giving up on the “Twilight” cash cow yet. He’s just crossing over and cashing in on the chance to reach a more mature, perhaps not so vampire-crazed audience. His primary fan base will remain the giddy girls (and Twi-moms) who loved Edward in the books, for now. But, as any actor must do, he moves forth and will straddle his roles of teen-idol and leading man-boy for a while before (and if) he joins the ranks of established male actors. That’s where it’s tough on a parent. If only we could filter R.Pattz so our kids would get the innocent teen-idol part of him and not the more salacious part.


As a thirtysomething mom, I find Pattinson oddly compelling. He seems dark, mysterious, and tragic. I’d like to see him in a non-”Twilight” movie. So I’ll probably see “Remember Me.” But, I’m a mom and I will not be putting his poster up in my bedroom! And if I had a teenager, well, I don’t think I’d let her either.