We haven’t seen the last of Robert Pattinson in 2026, as he has two more movies heading to the box office. One of which is Primetime, which has the actor stepping into the shoes of To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen. And for him, the biggest challenge was capturing the host’s accent. Pattison recently reveals how he learned to get Hansen’s accent just right for the new drama.
The series hosted by Hansen had volunteers go undercover in chatrooms as minors to flush out adults trying to set up illicit meetings. The premise sounds insane, and by the looks of the bonkers trailer, the upcoming movie seems to capture that exact feeling. In it, we also get to check out the British actor’s midwestern accent deliver Hansen’s iconic line, “You know how this looks, right?" But getting it to sound right took a lot of work, and may have left some people confused. Pattinson shared with GQ about what it took perfect the voice. He explained:
It’s just such a unique voice. It was actually incredibly difficult. He has a podcast discussing his old cases, and I was just walking around constantly trying to imitate his voice, but it’s pretty dark material. I’m wandering around the streets saying what he’s talking about, and people are incredibly confused with what’s going on. But his voice is really iconic to me, and it’s very hard to do it.
Pattionson’s dedication to roles is one of the reasons he has gotten a lot of gigs lately, with The Odyssey still in theaters and Dune: Part Three coming out December 18th. Having four movies may up his Oscar chances this year, especially given the more dramatic material of Primetime. The actor has spoken fondly of the movie and how much effort has gone into it as a passion project. He explained:
Everyone cared so much about it. It’s the first thing I’ve properly produced from the very, very beginning.
To Catch a Predator got its start with “Dangerous Web” segments that Hansen hosted for Dateline. And the upcoming movie seems to focus on these origins. Pattinson has called the script, “really unusual and kind of audacious,” which to me, perfectly describes the source series that lured predators into being filmed.
Not surprisingly, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen someone tackle the origins of Hansen’s series. Last year, the documentary Predators was released, which dove into the rise and controversial fall of the series. It is unclear how much the upcoming thriller will delve into the various stings and controersies. However, we can most likely expect the subject matter to be uncomfortable when it hits the 2026 movie schedule on September 25 after it premieres in Venice. This will also be the second collaboration with A24 for Pattinson, who earlier this year was in the company’s controversial The Drama.
Acording to some reports, Hansen has been skeptical about the movie’s portrayal of him, calling out things he claims never happened. Though he does give credit to Pattinson for his voice work, calling his imitation of him pretty good.
At least even if Chris Hansen doesn’t like the movie after it’s released, Pattinson rest assured his accent is appreciated and his efforts haven't gone unnoticed.
