Robert Pattinson Dishes on 'Ferocious' Masturbation Scene for 'The Lighthouse'

Robert Pattinson's new movie The Lighthouse is gaining critical acclaim as it begins its limited release, but there is one scene in it that is drawing headlines and strange reactions. There is apparently a scene in which the 33-year-old actor masturbates to a mermaid statue in what he describes a "ferocious" manner. Pattinson dished about the eye-popping moment to The New York Times, revealed that he "went really massive" for the scene, being as it was the first scene he filmed.

"It's always nice to do something massive for your opening shot, and I went really massive on the first take," Pattinson said. "It was a 180 from everything we'd done in rehearsal, and I could see Robert [Eggers, the director,] a little in shock afterward. But I was like, 'OK, cool, I didn't get told to stop, so I'll keep going in that direction.' As soon as I'd done that, it was like the road started getting paved."

He then went on to reveal why exactly he was less enthusiastic in rehearsals and decided to let loose for the actual filming.

"I want to do it different every time, and if you rehearse it 30 times, you have to think of 30 different ways to do it — even if the first way is probably the best way. I just hate it when I do a second take exactly the same as the first take. They might as well fire me, he said. "It's just boring! I mean, I've definitely seen actors who love rehearsing and are very good, so there's got to be some benefit to it. But there's something about that full commitment when you're shooting, when it's do or die, that allows you to be more free. Or maybe I'm just lazy, and I can't be bothered to do it until the day we shoot!"

Masturbation has surprisingly been a recurring theme in Pattinson's work as of late. As he noted to Variety, several of his recent work has involved seen of his character pleasuring themselves, oddly enough.

"I keep masturbating," the actor, best known for his roles in the Twilight and Harry Potter franchises, said. "In the last three or four movies, I've got a masturbation scene. I did it in High Life. I did it in Damsel. And The Devil All the Time. I only realized when I did it the fourth time. But when I saw the clay figure of the mermaid, if you're getting turned on by that, you're in a very strange place in your life."

Pattinson is also poised to play DC Comics character Batman in the superhero's next big screen outing, due out in 2021. As with any actor to don the cape and cowl, he has faced a bit of backlash. However he is used to this kind of hatred due to his time as Edward Cullen in the Twilight films.

"Maybe I'm just used to abuse by now," he told The New York Times. "At least I didn't get death threats this time — that's a plus! It's funny that people are so very angry about Twilight. I never particularly understood it."

Photo Credit: Tasos Katopodis/WireImage