Robert Pattinson Explaining Why He Pretended Not To Work Out While Preparing To Play Batman Is So Sincerely Funny

"That really came back to haunt me."

Years after pandemic protocols initially paused production on The Batman, Robert Pattinson's debut as the movie's titular character is now mere months away.

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To anyone unfamiliar, this is Batman — a DC Comics mainstay whose likeness has been reproduced in print and on screen for decades, with dozens of actors performing the role in different ways.

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In the last two decades alone, we've seen a range of interpretations. There was George Clooney's take in 1997's Batman & Robin, Christian Bale's in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises between 2005 and 2012, Ben Affleck's four years later in Batman v Superman...the list goes on.

All variations considered, there are some characteristically Batman qualities that tend not to wane. The fictional superhero's physique, whether accentuated by an embossed costume suit or cartoon illustration, is one of them.

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So it was interesting to hear Robert, while speaking to GQ in the spring of 2020, claim that he wasn't working out in preparation for the role.

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"I think if you're working out all the time, you're part of the problem," said the actor, adding to his clout as Relatable Hollywood Celebrity and, at the same time, leaving readers a little perplexed about what this could mean for the next iteration of Batman.

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The interview came several months after his cheeky response to a question about whether he'd started to "buff up" ahead of filming the movie. "I'm early stages," Robert said at the time. "Very, very early."

Anyway, Robert has since come clean about his fitness regimen, and it turns out he was kidding us all along. "That really came back to haunt me," he shared in a new interview with MovieMaker, referencing his previous remarks to GQ.

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"I just always think it's really embarrassing to talk about how you're working out," he continued. "I think it's like an English thing. Unless you are in the most unbelievable shape, where people are just genuinely curious, going, 'How have you achieved, like, physical perfection?' or whatever."

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To be clear, Robert was definitely working out. "You're playing Batman. You have to work out," he said. "I think I was doing the interview when I was in lockdown, as well, in England. … I was in a lower gear of working out."

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The Batman director Matt Reeves — who's also responsible for Cloverfield and the revamped Planet of the Apes franchise — talked to MovieMaker about the film and Robert's casting. "I was so excited about Robert Pattinson because he's such a wonderful actor," Matt explained. "And I knew that he would be able to go on that search with me for the depth and complexity of this character. I mean, I knew he wasn't going to play him straight ahead."

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"In writing, from the beginning, I was imagining the character in my head," he continued. "And I started watching movies of actors in the age range. And he just really kind of captivated me, and I started writing for him at a certain point. I had no idea if he ever would want to be in the movie."

The Batman, which also stars Colin Farrell, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, and Jeffery Wright, is now set for release this March. Will you be watching?