‘How To Be' Director: Robert Pattinson Almost Quit Acting

Robert Pattinson may be famous to millions of "Twilight" fans for playing Edward Cullen, but he almost quit acting before landing the vampire role which made him a star, his director on his latest film, "How To Be," told People.

"He was thinking about giving up acting," Oliver Irving told the mag. "Maybe doing music solely when ['How To Be'] came along."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Robert Pattinson- Hollywood's Hottest Vampire!

"How To Be," which features Robert in the lead role as a young musician who hires a self-help guru, was filmed before "Twilight." (The star went on to have an original song, "Never Think," on the "Twilight" soundtrack.)

"He was looking for something more challenging," Oliver said, adding that the film, "got him back into the swing of things again."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'Twilight's' 'New Moon' Cast - Who's In The Mix?

He also praised the actor's musical abilities on the set.

"He downplayed how good he was," the director said. "A lot of the time he would turn out to have a really good technique and we told him he needed to play it more simply."

And the handsome star's musical talent wasn't the only thing that needed to be downplayed.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'Twilight' Stars' Off Screen Hook Ups

"I said, 'You're banned from cutting your hair between now and the shoot,'" Oliver said. "We had to give him the most awkward haircut we possibly could, and we cut his trouser length a little bit too high. Things like that played down his apparent good looks."

Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: Peter Facinelli Talks 'New Moon'
PLAY IT NOW: First Look: Robert Pattinson In 'How To Be'

MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Robert Pattinson - Movies - Twilight - Young Hollywood - Celebrities

Copyright NBCAH - Access Hollywood
Contact Us