Robert Pattinson explains why he loves playing the villain

Robert Pattinson loves to "lower people's expectations" of himself by playing a villain.

The 40-year-old actor relished playing Antinous, the main antagonist in Sir Christopher Nolan's epic The Odyssey, and also shapeshifting Scytale in Dune: Part Three because he enjoys challenging perceptions.

Asked if he likes exploring his bad side, he told People magazine: “I do. I like lowering people’s expectations; that’s always my favourite, that’s always my place to be. Undersell and overdeliver, that’s my motto.”

However, he stressed that Antinous - who vies for the affections of Penelope (Anne Hathaway) in the years her husband Oydsseus (Matt Damon) is missing - isn't "really" a bad guy.

He said: “I don’t think he’s really the bad guy. I think he’s just like. . . It’s a love story, it’s a love story. Penelope is just waiting for Antinous to get older.”

Robert revealed he also likes to find a "quirk" in his characters to help get comfortable and make the roles his own.

He said: "There’s always one little thing that you kind of do every movie, I always find some kind of little quirk. I’m trying to remember what it was on this.

"I remember doing something which a lot of people thought I was very strange doing, but I can’t remember [what].”

The British actor is joined in both The Odyssey and Dune: Part Three by his The Drama co-star Zendaya.

But Robert admitted he "didn't even recognise" his friend when she was filming The Odyssey.

He said: “I didn’t know that she was on the set the day that she was shooting.

“It’s so strange. We were so far away from each other and I didn’t even recognise — I didn’t even say hi.

“She’s the best. So fun, so fun to hang out with, such a great actress.”

Meanwhile, Robert - who became a household name after leading the cast of the Twilight Saga - recently compared The Odyssey to the vampire franchise.

Discussing his character, Robert - who played vampire Edward Cullen while Taylor Lautner played his love rival Jacob Black in the Twilight films - told MTV UK: “I think they will be rooting for him. I keep comparing it—it’s kind of like Jacob in Twilight.

“What The Odyssey is about — Penelope just can’t make her mind up between the two guys and I’m just trying to like help her make a decision. It’s like, ‘It’s fine. He’s dead, get over it.' ”