n 2008, Pattinson landed the role of Edward Cullen in the film Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel of the same name. According to TV Guide, Pattinson was initially apprehensive about auditioning for the role of Edward Cullen, fearful that he would not be able to live up to the "perfection" expected from the character.[49] The film was released on 21 November 2008 and turned Pattinson into a movie star overnight.[50] Although the film received mixed reviews, critics praised his and co-star Kristen Stewart's chemistry in the film.[51] The New York Times called Pattinson a "capable and exotically beautiful" actor[52] and Roger Ebert said he was "well-chosen" for the role.[53]
His other release of 2008, How to Be, was a low-budget comedy drama film written and directed by Oliver Irving.[54][55] It screened at number of film festivals, earned mixed reviews from critics.[56][57] Pattinson then starred as Salvador Dalí in the film Little Ashes, a Spanish-British drama directed by Paul Morrison.[14] He also starred in a short film The Summer House directed by Daisy Gili.[58] This short film later re-released as a part of an anthology film titled Love & Distrust, comprising five short films following eight individuals from diverse backgrounds on their quest for true contentment.[59][60]
He reprised his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight sequel The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which was released on 20 November 2009. The film earned a record-breaking $142,839,137 opening weekend and an overall run of $709,827,462 worldwide.[61] Though the film received negative reviews, film critic Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune said that Pattinson was still "interesting to watch" despite the bad makeup.[62] Bill GoodyKoontz from the Arizona Republic said that "Pattinson's actually not in the film that much, but he does his best when he's around"[63] and Michael O'Sullivan of the Washington Post noted that his acting was "uniformly strong".