Robert Pattinson fans can’t tell what’s going on with his French accent in The King. The Netflix movie has been getting mixed reviews and Pattinson’s accent is a central part of every conversation. Director David Michod recently spoke about the French accent and how much effort Pattinson throws into his roles. In the movie, the actor plays The Dauphin and pretty much steals every scene he’s in, even with the heavy French accent.
Social media is currently filled with people trying to figure out what exactly is going on with Robert Pattinson’s accent in Netflix’s The King. “Sorry but Robert Pattinson’s French accent is hilarious. I don’t know whether it is excellent or ridiculous. Bless him,” said one viewer on Twitter. While there are a lot of others who think the same way, there are more than a few who believe that Pattinson is the best part of the movie. “Robert Pattinson making fun of Timothee’s d*ck speaking with French accent in The King has to be the best thing that happened this year,” said another viewer.
As for the origins of the heavy and sometimes over the top French accent, The King director David Michod says that it was all deliberate. The actor’s performance has been picked apart by a lot of critics, many of them have accused Pattinson of being too cartoonish. More than one critic has compared the actor to Looney Tunes‘ Pep&é Le Pew. That was the point of the whole thing, according to Michod. He explains.
“That character needed to be fun. He enters the movie about an hour in, shift the movie’s gears. Rob’s sole purpose in the movie is to be just an object of pure, almost shallow antagonism. He’s meant to just annoy.”
Robert Pattinson also insisted on doing his own stunts in The King, which wasn’t always such an easy thing to pull off. In one particular battle scene, the characters are slipping around in mud while wearing heavy battle armor. “We got a stuntman to do it and we got Rob to do it. And Rob being the great actor he is, he was the winner,” recalled David Michod. The moment provides some almost slapstick comedy, which was also central to Michod’s vision. He had this to say.
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“By that point in the movie, it would appear that they’re gearing up to have a one on one duel, and I felt very strongly that I’d seen enough fighting by that point. It wouldn’t be the most satisfying way to bring that particular battle to a close, and more importantly it put the perfect button on Rob’s character’s pathetic emptiness.”
Robert Pattinson’s French accent may throw off some viewers of The King, but it was all done on purpose. Not only that, but director David Michod loves that people are talking about the scenes that Pattinson is in. You can check out some of the better social media reactions to Pattinson’s accent below. The interview with David Michod was originally conducted by Newsweek.
my therapist: robert pattinson’s french accent in the king can’t hurt you
robert pattinson’s french accent: pic.twitter.com/KcMEYFgjUz— nicolle 🦇 (@nikitxx) November 1, 2019
robert pattinson making fun of timothées dick speaking with french accent in the king has to be the best thing that happened this year
— gave (@80sgave) November 1, 2019
So #TheKing
2nd half way better than 1st
Egerton and Chalamet are fab.
Rob is soooooo great. He looks 😍 his accent is 👌 and his final scene is 😂.
Like most other reviews i just wanted WAY MORE of him.— Paranoid Android (@Rob_me_Now) November 1, 2019
#TheKing wasn’t bad, but it would have been great as a mini series. and with more of robert pattinson and that accent pic.twitter.com/6DUJSu5JNG
— Kenzie Vanunu 🦋 (@kenzvanunu) November 2, 2019
After finishing #TheKing, can say that #RobertPattinson can play the character he wants, he can be good, evil, with the weirdest accent in the world, he’ll find a way to do it perfectly. He’s one of the best actors today and he doesnt stop growing, there are no limits for him 💪
— 🦇 JESS 🎾 (@mrsnadinson) November 1, 2019
robert pattinson hearing timothee’s british accent and timothee hearing robert’s french accent for the first time pic.twitter.com/nAf77C5ozx
— lou (@christiansbale) November 2, 2019
i wonder how many takes they had to make until timothée kept a serious and straight face bc robert pattinson telling u u have giant balls and a tiny cock with that french accent is a lot to take in pic.twitter.com/RfSNdW55ei
— becca (@laurieslaurence) November 1, 2019
the way robert pattinson turned a shakespeare movie into a comedy i don’t know a better actor https://t.co/fRUpu5ADeA
— naomi watts (@IiittIewomen) November 3, 2019
me watching robert pattinson slip on the mud after talking all that shit #TheKing#thekingnetflixpic.twitter.com/0nRwCDTDnf
— tyler (@whosbabyisyou) November 1, 2019