Robert Pattinson recreated Chris Hansen's voice for Primetime with bizarre method
Robert Pattinson has spoken out for the first time about playing Chris Hansen in Primetime, revealing why he pushed for the director to be someone who had never directed a narrative film before.
Pattinson is set to play the famous predator catching TV show host in the upcoming film which went viral after its initial trailer in large part thanks to the actor’s shockingly convincing portrayal of Hansen’s iconic voice.
The actor saying “You know how this looks right” has gone viral as a meme of its own, and it’s for the most-part down to how convincingly similar Pattinson’s portrayal is.
In a recent interview with GQ India the British actor has revealed how he managed to nail Hansen’s voice, and the method is pretty bizarre.
Pattinson listened to a podcast from the To Catch a Predator host and repeated his lines out loud
Pattinson stated that he worked hard to achieve the voice for Primetime, saying ‘it’s just such a unique voice’.
Advert
He revealed he walked around listening to Hansen’s new pod Have A Seat with Chris Hansen, explaining: “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 with what’s going on.
“But his voice is really iconic to me, and it’s very hard to do it.”
The actor specifically suggested director Lance Oppenheim despite his previous experience being documentaries
Lance Oppenheim, the director of Primetime, made his name in non-narrative non-fiction documentaries. Pattinson said he specifically suggested Oppenheim after reading the script, explaining: “I was like, ‘There’s something about his style that could connect. There’s some sort of Oliver Stone-y, Brian De Palma version of this movie, and I think his style is really perfect for it.
“Then 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.”
He continued: “It’s so fun to work on something where it was Lance’s first narrative feature. Everyone cared so much about it.
“It’s the first thing I’ve properly produced from the very, very beginning. And we were doing it really as a team the whole way through it.
“It was one of those things where you’re like, ‘Okay, we’re throwing everything at this and trying to make it work.’ So I’m curious how it’s going to go down.”
Chris Hansen has been critical of the film, refusing to sign an NDA in order to screen the film but telling Entertainment Tonight of Pattinson's portrayal: "Obviously, he has practiced imitating me.
"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. And you know, my wife [and] my family seem to think it’s a pretty good imitation.”
Primetime releases in cinemas 25 September, 2026.
Topics: Robert Pattinson, TV and Film, Film, Celebrity
Michael Slavin