Robert Pattinson is living out a real-life ‘pinch me’ moment, and it has nothing to do with Batman. The actor has always wanted to work with Denzel Washington, who is one of his acting heroes. Well, that dream is coming true, because Washington and Pattinson are doing a movie together. However, there is one thing that surprised the Dune star.
Pattinson's first movie of the 2027 movie schedule, The Take, was an easy yes thanks to a “dream-team situation,” partnering him with one of the greatest actors of all time. The Primetime actor dished with Entertainment Weekly about what caught him off guard (in the best way) while working with Washington:
Denzel is one of the reasons I wanted to become an actor, so getting to work with him was pretty incredible. What I loved was seeing how alive the material is for him. Even after all these years of acting, he’s still looking for something new in every take. I also didn’t realize how much he liked to improvise, which made it all the more exciting. You’d start a five-page scene thinking you knew where it was going, and then suddenly you’re completely off-piste. It was really thrilling.
Sounds like Pattinson had to stay on his toes just as much as his character, Noah, who is recruited by “a charismatic thief” (aka Denzel Washington) to rob Manhattan’s richest bank. To make things more complicated, this is also the bank where his girlfriend (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones) works as a teller. The movie’s official synopsis teases that “a bank guard, a teller, and a master thief get caught in a deadly game of cons and double crosses.” This is definitely up the actor’s alley, as he tends to lean toward twisty movies, such as Primetime about To Catch A Predator host Chris Hansen.
However, this movie sounds less polarizing and more thrilling. I’m sure some of that improv worked in Pattinson’s favor given the movie’s dynamics. It’s being described as a mix of a heist film and psychological drama, and promises to keep you surprised until the end. In fact, director Fernando Meirelles assures that even the last 10 seconds are important. Part of the excitement of the movie is being credited to Washington. Meirelles backs Pattinson’s statements and shares how easy improvising is for The Equalizer actor:
He constantly surprises you. Sometimes, when I ask him where a particular line came from, he’ll simply say, ‘I have no idea.’ There are quite a few of those moments in the final cut.
While the movie is strictly from Pattinson’s POV, it sounds like Washington is going to be a scene-stealer. However, while Washington is getting rave reviews from his coworkers, the director also made sure to shout out Pattinson, calling him “one of the best actors working today.” This is definitely true, given the actor has released three movies this year and still has Dune: Part 3 set to hit the 2026 schedule on December 18. He certainly doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and I wonder if Washington gave him any advice on working so much.
Though this full-circle moment with the Gladiator II actor had to be a highlight, given Pattinson previously worked with Denzel's son John David Washington in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. Maybe one day the three of them can do a project together. Perhaps something just as ‘puzzling’ as The Take and with just as much improvising.
Hopefully, when the movie comes out on January 15, 2027, they’ll share what lines were improvised, because I’m dying to know. At least, I’ll be able to watch it with a Netflix subscription.
