HOLLYWOOD— There was a time when it seemed like Paul Walker was the next big thing — before he gave us "Timeline," "Into the Blue" and "Running Scared." Remember when Jon Heder seemed like the biggest star in the world, right before "Just like Heaven," "School for Scoundrels" and "Mama's Boy"? And then there was that Matt Damon guy, another overnight sensation who then went and made a bunch of "Bourne" and "Ocean's" movies.
OK, so things worked out for that last guy. The point is that when you're hot and new in Hollywood, you not only have to act fast — you have to act in good movies. And right now, there's nobody hotter than "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson. So, what's he going to do next?
"I don't know," the newly christened A-lister said to MTV when we asked him if he was trying to "get" anything out of his recent Oscars attendance — be it more recognition, new celebrity friends or even a job offer. "I don't know what to get out of it."
The refreshing thing about RPattz is that he's exactly as the Twilighters like him: honest, self-deprecating and unceasingly handsome. The bad news for his millions of fans, however, is that he pulled out of the film he was supposed to be making right now — and with the news that "Twilight" sequels have him booked through at least late 2010, they have to wonder: Is he waiting too long to make a non-"Twilight" film?
"I haven't worked since the end of 'Twilight,' I've just been doing promotion stuff," Pattinson explained to us on the red carpet at the Oscars.
"But I have a gap in between, so I might do something in there, maybe," he revealed of a small window between "New Moon" and "Eclipse" that could have him filming something new in late 2009. "I'm just relieved that I can kind of do anything [different]."
Of course, Twilighters can look forward to the May 8 release of "Little Ashes," the long-awaited Salvador Dalн biopic he filmed before "Twilight" gave him fame. But as for his pivotal first post-Edward Cullen choice — the one that could determine if he becomes a Mark Hamill or a Harrison Ford — Pattinson said he isn't sure which Hollywood script he'll select.
"I don't know, just scripts randomly appeal to me," he explained of his role-selection process. "I'm not looking specifically at any genre."
Since "Twilight" made him an overnight star, Pattinson has been flooded with hot Hollywood scripts — but, he insisted, there isn't any common element that he is looking for in them. "There're a few things," he said. "And they are all completely different, so I don't know."
Pattinson is surprised, however, by how many "heartthrob" scripts are being sent his way. No matter how many women pledge their allegiance to his dreamy eyes and unwieldy hair, the English actor insists that he just can't think of himself as a beefcake.
"I'm so surprised it's worked out [that way]," he said of his status as a sex symbol. "I was just thinking the whole time that I've never had the personality to fit into that. I'm not really afraid of it, because I don't even know how to play up that aspect."
Still, Pattinson insisted, whenever he does select his first post-"Twilight" role, it likely won't be a traditional Romeo. "I don't know if I could ever be cast in a heartthrob role except for 'Twilight,' " he insisted. "And I didn't even know that was a heartthrob role."
Check out everything we've got on "New Moon."
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