“Pretty dark material”: Robert Pattinson Finally Discusses the Hardest Part of Playing Chris Hansen

Robert Pattinson has played a vampire, a lighthouse keeper, a superhero, and a disposable space clone. Somehow, the hardest thing he has had to do is talk like a mild-mannered network TV host. His character in Primetime isn’t just any TV host, but the infamous To Catch a Predator host, Chris Hansen.

In a new GQ interview, Pattinson opened up about becoming Hansen for the movie, A24’s drama about the rise of his infamous reality program. The role required him to nail one of the most recognizable voices in 2000s television, and it turns out that came with an awkward side effect. Pattinson shared:

It’s just such a unique voice. It was actually incredibly difficult. He has a podcast discussing his old cases, and I was just walking around constantly trying to imitate his voice, but it’s pretty dark material. I’m wandering around the streets saying what he’s talking about, and people are incredibly confused about what’s going on. But his voice is really iconic to me, and it’s very hard to do it.

Pattinson being out in public, muttering lines from a podcast about sting operations to catch p*dophiles, will definitely creep out strangers. Directed by documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim, Primetime is set in 2006 and follows Hansen at the height of the show’s fame. It hits theaters on September 25. Pattinson has said it is the first film he properly produced from the very beginning.

Robert Pattinson Is Magnetic as Chris Hansen in Primetime Trailer

A24 dropped the full trailer for Primetime, and it is not an easy watch. Robert Pattinson has the voice down cold, with the flat delivery, the folder in hand, and the line that eventually became a meme: “Why don’t you have a seat right there?” But the trailer hints at something far darker underneath the impression.

The A24 adaptation of the original events takes a satirical turn, showing a man who is not doing a job, but rather a man who has started to enjoy the hunt. He plays Hansen as a man intoxicated by his own show. He is twitchy, self-serious, and convinced he is on a mission.

In one clip from the trailer, former NBC boss Jeff Zucker, playing himself, tells Hansen he doesn’t like the show but America does, then moves it to 9 pm. Hansen’s response is to punch the air and declare he will be bigger than Lost. Pattinson told GQ the script is really unusual and kind of audacious, and that he is curious how audiences will take it. He shared:

When the second draft of the script came in, I was like, ‘Ooh, I really like this.’ It’s really unusual and kind of audacious. I’m so curious to see how people will receive it. It’s so fun to work on something where it was Lance’s first narrative feature. Everyone cared so much about it.

Fresh off playing Antinous in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Pattinson may have finally found the role that puts him in the Best Actor conversation. The Twilight actor is also long overdue for a major recognition, with a career built on bold and strange choices. The risk is just as clear, as the subject matter is genuinely uncomfortable.

It turns a real-life incident into a horror story that may split the room. A September release also means a long campaign to sustain.

Chris Hansen Calls Robert Pattinson’s Portrayal Overly Dramatic

Chris Hansen has watched all of this unfold from the outside, and he isn’t thrilled. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, he gave Pattinson partial credit. He shared that the actor has clearly practiced imitating him, though he found it overly dramatic. He shared:

I mean, obviously he has practiced imitating me, and while I think it’s overly dramatic, I think there is a pretty good imitation there in the trailer. It’s not so much what I think; it’s what other people think.

He also admitted his own family rates it more highly than he does, noting that what he thinks matters less than what everyone else thinks. However, his bigger objection is accuracy. Hansen further shared:

He’s saying things I never said and doing things I never did, and that’s not who I am. I’m a nice guy, except when it comes to criminals and predators. I think people should remember that it is a work of fiction, only based on real-life events.

This follows weeks of friction. On the Serialously with Annie Elise podcast, Hansen said nobody consulted him until the film was finished, he asked what Hollywood’s motive was, and revealed he had once imagined Denis Leary playing him in a script he wrote himself.

He later told Fox News that A24’s lawyers asked him to sign away rights to his name, image, and brand before a private screening (via Variety). He refused and never saw the preview screening. However, a source close to A24 shared that Hansen was only asked to sign a standard NDA like every other preview audience.

What do you think of Pattinson’s role as Hansen? Let us know in the comments below!

The movie will be released in theaters on September 25, 2026.