In Primetime, Chris Hansen and the aspiring actor working on his show both end up playing roles they seemingly didn’t intend to play.”
The A24 film dramatizes Dateline NBC‘s To Catch a Predator, with Robert Pattinson starring as Hansen and Skyler Gisondo as Dan, an actor who becomes more entrenched in the show as it grows. Lance Oppenheim directs from a script by Ajon Singh. Pattinson and Gisondo spoke exclusively with BLKCinema.com about how the series turned a newsman into a performer and what it takes for someone chasing a dream to keep looking past what’s in front of him.
How Robert Pattinson approached playing Chris Hansen
Pattinson said he studied the original episodes in order while developing the script and noticed Hansen changing on camera.
“When I first found the script, I wasn’t intending to star in it,” Pattinson said. “But when we were developing the script together, I was watching so many episodes, and I watched them chronologically, of the original To Catch a Predator shows. What I found really fascinating is that the more episodes he’s doing, it becomes more of a performance, at least that’s my interpretation of it anyway. The original episodes just seem like a normal news broadcast, and then suddenly, as you’re doing it more and more, the editing gets slightly snappier. There’s something about his entrances. He comes in with sort of funnier quips and things, and his timing is different.”
“And I was like, oh, you’re becoming, at least in my interpretation, just from the familiarity of doing it, more aware of what you’re doing and what the audience is wanting,” he continued. “I just thought that was sort of fascinating, especially when you’re a news reporter. Traditionally, it should be a passive job. You’re just reporting the news, and suddenly you’re recast in a totally different purview.”
He said that tension is what made Hansen compelling to play.
“I found it was a really interesting thing for a character, where you want to have a successful show, but as soon as you have a success, you’re required to perform a totally different role,” Pattinson said. “It’s always an interesting character to play in that context.”
Skyler Gisondo on Dan’s quiet desperation
Gisondo said his own start in acting as a kid helped him connect with Dan.
“Having started acting when I was young, there was a ton with Dan that I could kind of latch on to,” Gisondo said. “For so long, the fantasy has kind of been dangling right in front of him, and now here he is, finally so close to this thing he’s always wanted, and Chris sort of has it all. He has his own show. So even though at first things aren’t quite what he thought they would be, it’s like the power of compartmentalization.”
“He’s just so eager. There’s that sort of quiet desperation, that he’s willing to look past so much, and not only look past, but also maybe transform to meet what’s required of him, before maybe becoming disillusioned or sick of himself in some way,” he continued. “I knew that’s kind of where it had to go, but day to day, I was just trying to be present, scene to scene. Things often felt very alive and moment to moment, the way Lance works, and I’m happy that it came together in that way.”
Primetime opens is in theaters now.
Featured image photo credit: A24
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