Robert Pattinson has an excellent new interview and photo shoot in the June issue of Elle UK. The photographs are by Hedi Slimane, and I LOVE them. Sparkles sometimes comes across like he’s trying too hard to give a James Dean vibe, but I think these photos strike the appropriate balance of Sparkles/James Dean fetishism. Just like actresses are always pulling a Marilyn, men are always going to try for Dean, but in Sparkles’ case, it feels like he’s still doing his own thing.

As for the interview, you can read the entire transcript of it here, at one of Sparkles’ many fansites (they are so on top of things, always!). The piece is called “The Lost Boy” and there are some really good quotes. Here are the highlights:

Pattinson on older women: “Every girl I went out with in my teens was older than me. My first girlfriend was 26, I was 17. Women who were older always seemed more exciting.” Because they knew more? “I guess so. I used to think I was a bit of a bad-ass when I was younger. I liked that it annoyed people how much younger I was. I liked walking into a room with a woman and people looking at us and thinking: they do not look right together.”

Pattinson on his own laziness. “My ideal job would be one day a week. When I first started acting, I’d get one job a year that lasted three months, and then I’d do nothing the rest of the time but I’d have enough money to survive. I’d read all the papers every day, get in a lot of DVDs… That was great.” He breaks into a wide-cheekboned smile, eyes heavy-lidded, gentle and slightly feline; like James Dean, without the self-hatred.

He loves chicken kebab: He’s 24 now, but, perhaps ironically, given his vampiric alter-ego’s perpetual teenagedhood, seems younger. His face lights up when he sees his favourite lunch has been delivered to the studio: chicken kebab. “I’ve got simple tates.” He’s a sweet, goofy boy, quick to laugh and smile, though he doesn’t seem particularly happy. But he is, he says, more content than he used to be. He used to write music as a release (his compositions appeared on the Twilight soundtrack) but hasn’t felt the need for a while. “I have to be incredibly depressed to write songs and I’m not. What makes me want to write songs is when I wake up crying. I would have no idea why I was crying, but it made me sad for myself… ” And he bursts out laughing.

On perhaps doing a play in London: “I’d really really love to do a play in London,” he says. “But I’d just be afraid it would turn into an ‘NSync concert. Or people would come along expecting it to be something like Twilight. From the little amount of theatre I’ve done, I know that usually you can feel a push from the audience, who have come along wanting the show to succeed. But when I go to premieres, it’s more like the crowd is pulling, really wanting something from you. I always feel completely drained afterwards. It would be very strange and exhausting to have that kind of experience every night on stage.”

He doesn’t believe the Twihard thing is really about HIM: He says he’s simply a cipher that makes the frenzy permissible. “It’s very clear that people have gone there for an excuse to go crazy. You can’t stand around in the street and go crazy but get together with your friends at a Twilight thing and you have an environment where you can.”

Small vanities: A little vanity comes with the territory, though and Pattinson prepares for shirtless scenes by “going to the gym for four hours a day. I don’t eat at all expect for protein shakes. But I don’t understand how you could maintain that all your life. After the scene’s done, I don’t work out again. It’s a ridiculous idea that you’re not a proper actor unless you have a six-pack.”

He doesn’t own a home: “I came close to buying a house in Los Angeles, but 20 minutes from signing the contract I freaked out. So I don’t own a house or really have a home. It can drive you a bit crazy not having any kind of anchor. Hopefully it will settle down some time soon but for the next few years, I’m going to be filming all over the place. I thought I would get a dog. Then wherever the dog was would kind of be my home.”

On his dog, and his girlfriend: He adopted Bear, a German shepherd-pitbull crossbreed (“100 pet cent mutt”), from a dog shelter in Louisiana: a canine death row. “Bear was two days away from euthanasia. We thought he was traumatized by his near-death experience.” Who’s we? Was this a solo rescue mission, or was Pattinson accompanied by a certain elfin co-star? He has long been linked with Kristen Stewart, but adopting a dog together would surely mean they were getting serious. “Well…” He looks flustered. Are you going to be a single parent to Bear? “Um, yes, I guess so.” The rumours about their impending marriage aren’t true, then? “No they’re not. I was told I was meant to be getting married somewhere called ‘Napa Valley’. It sounded quite cool. Maybe I will get married there.”

Whether his relationship is a studio fabrication: “No,” he says, kindly but firmly. “Oh no. I’d love it if they tried. If studio tried to get involved with my personal life, I could start messing around with them in return… No. There’s nothing nefarious going on, I just don’t like people taking my picture. It’s not nice when your life becomes someone else’s news. Even when you’re having a good time and someone takes a picture and days, “Look at them having a good time!” I feel like, it’s not your good time.” So he isn’t working to a careful PR strategy? “People think we have people organizing everything, that it’s all a publicity stunt. It’s not. There is no magical entourage – you’re just a person on your own. You have to figure it out.”

On getting away with stuff: “It just isn’t possible to get away with that stuff with camera phones around. I can’t do it. If I have four beers, I’m destroyed the entire next day. I just don’t understand how these stars used to go on benders all the time.” He pauses. “Cocaine. Must be.”

Home life in England: He sends every script to his parents to read (“They always come up with good advice because they think differently from the industry. My dad compares every script to Jaws and Superman…”) and still misses his childhood pet, a West Highland terrier called Patty Pattinson – “and her middle name was Pat.”

He really loves that elephant named Tai. “I saw her recenly and she remembered me; at least I think she did. She had a new headpiece on and I said “Nice hat, Tai” and her trunk went up to her head. She’s amazing.”

What his money buys: When asked what the greatest extravagance his not-insignificant pay packet has brought him, he says, “It sounds ridiculous but my dog was sick with a puppy disease called parvo and it was such a relief being able to go into the vet and say, ‘I want the best, immediately.'”

More about Water for Elephants: “I looked at Gary Cooper films, at his stance and stillness. Camera technique wasn’t what it is, and you used to have to stay really still. Acting was much more about your voice. Also, my character is a vet, so there’s a calmness to him, as there is with anyone who’s good around animals.” He and Reese Witherspoon crackle on screen; by his standards, the decade between them is nothing. “She isn’t really much older than me at all,” he says gallantly.

In the end: “I never get what I want,” he sighs at one point. His puppy is sick, he doesn’t have a home and, reading between the lines, his love life is looking distinctly grey. The mournful edge in his personality is what makes him so desirable, though – and so romantic. Thank goodness this multi-millionaire matinee idol isn’t as pleased with himself as he should be: he’d be unbearable. As it is, he’s still an outsider, soft and pliable and modest, still waiting to come out of his shell.

[From Elle UK, transcribed by Robert’s fansite]

Sigh… he really is dreamy, isn’t he? I will always maintain this – whether or not Sparkles is actually a talented actor (questionable), he will continue to work and work in the industry because he consistently builds up goodwill, and because he comes across as a very genuine and sweet celebrity. Also, note to conspiracy theorists: do you buy Sparkles’ denial of a studio-manufactured romance with K-Stew? I do. I think he just loves her, because he loves surly bitches. When he meets me, Kristen is going to fall by the wayside.

Elle UK scans courtesy of The Fashion Spot.