Robert Pattinson’s Golden Tresses In The King Were Inspired by Lily-Rose Depp

It could be said that not enough people are talking about Robert Pattinson‘s golden princess-y locks in The King. When the trailer dropped all anyone could talk about was Timothée Chalamet‘s (admittedly chic) period bowl cut, but where was all of that same energy when it came to Pattinson and his long, grungy tresses?

Well, while we all thought that the big hair story in The King had something to do with Chalamet, it turns out there was a bigger hair story all along. The real French Dauphin upon whom Pattinson’s character is based probably could have also had a bowl cut similar to that of Chalamet’s English King Henry V, but thankfully the actor, who is known for taking some extreme measures to get into character, took some creative liberties when it came to getting in character as the Dauphin.

In fact, according to a profile on Pattinson in The New York Times, it was his cast mate who inspired his look. And it wasn’t Chalamet who inspired Pattinson, who plays the Dauphin of France, it was Lily-Rose Depp. Pattinson saw some photos of Depp all dolled up in her 14th century garb as Catherine, the love interest to Chalamet’s King Henry V. “I was like, ‘I want to play a princess, too,’” Pattinson recounted.

And though he didn’t play a princess, he did get to play royalty. When the man says he wants to play a princess, you let him play as much of a princess as the script will allow for, and in this case, that involved switching up the Dauphin’s hair.

This role in The King is not Pattinson’s sole role this year for which he debuted a new look, either. In his upcoming A24 horror film The Lighthouse, Pattinson donned and old time-y 19th century mustache. Let’s just hope he gives Bruce Wayne a makeover when he appears in Matt Reeves’s The Batman.

Related: Robert Pattinson Went to Extreme Lengths to Get Into Character in The Lighthouse