Robert Pattinson: 'Elephants are like method actors'

Robert Pattinson compared working with elephants to starring alongside "full-on method actors".

The 'Twilight Saga' star - who worked alongside the huge animals on new movie 'Water for Elephants' with Reese Witherspoon - loved having the opportunity to star with something that didn't know what it was doing and would react differently every time they shot a scene.

He said: "The best thing is that it takes away from the mundane [parts] of the day. If you're doing 20 takes or something, and there's a character who's going to be doing something totally different every time, it's always exciting. It's like working with a full-on method actor who's just improvising."

However, the British hunk did not always find it so endearing, as sometimes in an emotional scene the elephant - named Tai - would get in the way.

He said: "If there's like, an actual moment you have to get emotion across and suddenly there's like a trunk in your face."

Robert recently claimed he didn't know how big his role in the romantic drama was until he began shooting.

He said: "When I first read the script - because I didn't have that many lines - I just thought, 'Oh OK I get it. I'm like the eyes of the audience. It's going to be a big spectacle movie that isn't solely resting on my shoulders.' So I was very relaxed about it, going in.

"I only realised about halfway through. I was working every single day. Reese was hardly ever in."