Robert Pattison is Related to Vlad the Impaler

The Associated Press reported that according to Ancestry.co.uk, Robert Pattison, the hunk idol of the Twilight series, is a blood line descendant of Vlad the Impaler. Once this was revealed, two things came to mind, that I'm sure has come into yours as well: why should we care? and does this mean we'll get a better acting performance from him as he gets in touch with his vampiric past? If I was a 'Twi-hard' (which thank goodness I'm not), I may actually care about this 'breaking' news. And as for his acting abilities, sadly we must wait at least a week for the new movie to see if anything has changed.

Since we're discussing Pattison's acting ability as a vampire, let's compare his talent to other famous vampire portrayals. Let's take a look at the grandfather of vampires- Bela Lugosi. Lugosi came to fame with his role playing a vampire. With his acting ability, he was able to capture the true mystery, darkness, and haunting ability of the blood sucker. Robert Pattison, on the other hand, often comes across as a dark, brooding stereotypical teen who likes to stalk the object of his affection like a deranged emo boy. He does happen to capture the creepiness that Lugosi was able to get perfectly, but in regards to all other aspects, he sadly falls short.

Let's now compare the other side of the spectrum. Where Lugosi captured the true dark soul of a vampire (and Pattison came up short), Leslie Nielsen was able to make light of the dark. With his portrayal of Dracula in Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Nielsen shows that there really isn't anything to be afraid of in the dark. Through his comedic talent, Dracula may still be creepy, but he's a creepy old man you can laugh at. Pattison, on the other hand, does not happen to inspire chuckles or laughs with his portrayal of Edward Cullen.

There is one other person we could compare Pattison's portrayal of a vampire with, but I feel that I may be speaking blasphemy. Gary Oldman took over where Bela Lugosi left off with capturing the tortured love that Dracula had for a human being, while being soulless and evil. Pattison may be able to capture the tortured love vibe, he comes across like a late 90's early 2000 goth teenager, not of an old soul who's been doomed to walk the earth for years.

In closing, Robert Pattison is related to Vlad the Impaler. If you care, good for you. If not, join the club. While he may be able to capture broody, angsty love, he admittedly does have room to grow on. Of course, it could just be the material, or the direction, but in the list of vampire actors Mr. Pattison, in my opinion, belongs at the bottom of the list. But then again, no other actor has played a 'sparkly' vampire, so I guess that says something for him.