How do you solve a problem like Robert Pattinson?
Let’s be clear: Nobody needs to be feeling all that bad for the man better known as Edward “Sparkle Vamp” Cullen, currently worth $64 million (according to celebritynetworth.com) — and looking at another huge hit with the final installment of the “Twilight” movies, “Breaking Dawn — Part 2,” due out this fall.
But despite all that, the 26-year-old Brit must be feeling awfully uncomfortable at the moment, because he’s in the rather unique position of being a hot guy who’s been very publicly cheated on by his longtime lady.
For those living under a rock, Kristen Stewart, until recently Pattinson’s live-in girlfriend, was photographed last month in a series of clinches with Rupert Sanders, the married director of her film “Snow White and the Huntsman.”
This particular type of betrayal is a situation all too common when the genders are reversed, but fairly rare this way around. But think back to the now-ancient 2002 scandal of Britney Spears cheating on Justin Timberlake, spawning his hit f-you song “Cry Me a River” and arguably launching him into being his own man, no longer part of their Mickey Mouse Club sideshow. His star’s been on the rise ever since.
So what does this unusual turn of events mean for Pattinson’s image, on the eve of his press tour for his upcoming movie, David Cronenberg’s sci-fi thriller “Cosmopolis,” in theaters Friday?
“Everyone I know, no matter what their feelings were about Rob and Kristen prior to this, now seems extremely sympathetic towards him and appalled with her behavior,” says a Hollywood casting director who asked to remain anonymous. “All eyes are on him right now to see how he’s going to react. Is he going to take her back? Is he going to break down during the ‘Twilight’ press tour? Is he going to react with some kind of crazy alcohol or drug or sex bender?”
What he can’t afford to do, says one expert, is what we might reasonably expect him to do: get mad.
“The one mistake he could make,” says Manhattan-based image consultant William Cane, “would be to lash out in anger against Kristen Stewart. Americans like to see their heroes remain strong under pressure, and they dislike seeing women criticized by current or former partners.”
And it’s all about feeding what the rabid fans want from their heroes.
“The revelation humanizes him in the eyes of fans and make him even more lovable, especially to women,” says Cane. “There is nothing special Pattison needs to do or say in order to deal with the disclosure about Kristen Stewart’s cheating. If he says he was hurt by the news men will sympathize with him. If he says it was a shock, women will also sympathize with him. Even if he says nothing those who like him in films will still like him; they may even like him more because they see that he, too, can be touched by human drama and misfortune in his own life.”
Of course, there have been rumors for years that the relationship between Pattinson and Stewart is not exactly the starry romance it’s been played up to be.
“I don’t know if I believe all the conspiracy theories, but there have definitely been conversations about this being the equivalent of a high school romance that was going to break up when they go to college,” says Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff, author of “Where’s My F – – king Latte? (And Other Stories About Being an Assistant in Hollywood).”
And just two days ago, a post on the gossip site Jezebel chronicled one purported insider’s claims that Pattinson has been stepping out on Stewart for years — he’s just never been unfortunate enough to get snapped by the paparazzi doing it. The tipster, who offered nothing more than some corroborating timelines and circumstantial photos, alleged that Pattinson has been involved with, among others, Twilight co-stars Ashley Greene and Nikki Reed, along with his “Remember Me” co-star Emilie de Ravin and actress Sarah Roemer, with whom he was photographed leaving a club in a car late last year.
But regardless of the rumors’ veracity, now that Pattinson is graduating — from “Twilight” and, perhaps, from Stewart — he’s facing the most difficult transition so far, says Nemcoff.
“Hollywood is littered with the faded careers of teen heartthrobs and young men who became famous playing iconic parts,” he says. “Look at Hayden Christensen, Tobey Maguire, Elijah Wood. You’re typecast, and when you appeal primarily to young people in their formative years, they don’t want to see you as someone else. So you’re stuck. I think he’s in a very difficult position.”
So far, Pattinson’s efforts to carve out a separate artistic identity have not gone well. The reception for his other movies — “Water for Elephants,” “Remember Me,” “Bel Ami” — has been lukewarm at best.
Keith Simanton, managing editor at the Internet Movie Database, says Pattinson’s immediate prospects, aside from “Breaking Dawn 2,” which “would make its money with or without the drama,” aren’t great: “Reports for ‘Cosmopolis’ in Cannes were even less enthusiastic than for the director’s previous effort, ‘A Dangeous Method.’ I think it doesn’t get a leg up from the breakup.”
But, going forward, Pattinson may benefit from the emotional fallout of the current adversity.
“It does give him a certain vulnerability that he probably didn’t have before,” Simanton says. “These things can’t feel good when they’re going on, but it does end up making you more interesting … maybe in a way that will allow him to be a broader, non-sparkly actor.”
sstewart@nypost.com