Robert Pattinson Is Loving His Post-Twilight Life

Robert Pattinson is in a very good place right now. He's starring in two buzzed-about movies. And, he finally completed his epic Twilight contract. But, RPattz isn't resting on his teen-heartthrob reputation — instead he seems to be taking his career into a darker territory.

In The Rover, Pattinson plays an outlaw trying to track down a gang of thieves in a post-apocalyptic Australian outback. The movie costars indie stalwart Guy Pearce and was written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker David Michôd. The plot is wholly dark and slightly depressing, but at this point, it seems nothing can get the actor down. "I actually see The Rover as quite hopeful," he said at the film's recent press conference. "But, I have a very optimistic view of the world — mainly because I like my life."

Despite the movie's heavy subject matter, Pattinson claimed he found the material to be quite funny, and fully enjoyed filming — with one exception. His character wields a gun — this is a dystopian, lawless outback, after all — and that didn't really sit well. "I'm quite anti-gun, actually," said Pattinson. "We had a trainer to help us, but I didn't like it at all. You get a little thrill from the power trip of it, but I also feel a little silly holding a gun — it's just basically a bang-making machine."

Up next is David Cronenberg's Map To The Stars, where Pattinson gets busy with Julianne Moore. It might seem like he's aiming to shed his Twilight persona in a big way, by avoiding all things rom-com or youthful. But, in reality, the laid-back Brit is just taking roles — and life — as they come.

"I actually don't have any particular plan [for my career]," he explained. "You can't really predict if an audience is going to keep following you, or what they'll like, but hopefully if I make challenging stuff and put my heart into it, at least one person will like it."