Robert Pattinson Picks the Best Acting in Movie History—and It's Not What You Think

From sparkly vampire to arthouse staple, he's now working with directors like David Cronenberg, Christopher Nolan, Bong Joon-ho, and Lynne Ramsay — not bad for a guy who used to glitter in the sunlight.

So when Pattinson names what he thinks is the greatest acting performance ever put on film, people tend to listen. In a recent interview with Backstage, he singled out Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront (1954), calling it the performance every actor should study.

"On the Waterfront, probably," he said. "You can watch it a billion times, and it's still quite shockingly good. It just has infinite value."

For those who somehow haven't seen it: Brando plays Terry Malloy, an ex-boxer turned longshoreman who gets pulled back into mob corruption after the murder of a friend. The role earned Brando his first Best Actor Oscar, and the film itself remains a staple on every "Greatest of All Time" list for a reason.

And yes, Pattinson knows it's not an edgy pick — it's basically the Citizen Kane of acting choices — but his point stands: Brando's work in that movie still hits like a freight train.

That iconic "I coulda been a contender" scene? Brando actually wanted it cut. Thankfully, no one listened.