(PEOPLE.com) — Twi-hards go crazy for Robert Pattinson — and it’s attention he enjoys — but what if the Brit never became an actor in the first place?
“I used to want to be a rapper when I was, like, 14,” the actor said during an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” alongside costars Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, which is set to air Thursday.
Rap music wasn’t the only American entertainment Pattinson, who turned 24 on Thursday, enjoyed. “I grew up watching American movies and stuff,” he told Oprah.
So, what’s it like to star in one of the most popular American movie franchises in recent years?
“It’s a great position to be in because you can walk into a room and everybody’s screaming,” he said of the rapturous fan response, which will only grow stronger as their latest chapter, “Eclipse,” hits theaters June 30. But Pattinson thinks a lot of the enthusiasm is less about him and more about his character, Edward Cullen.
“It’s not really about you,” he said. “So, it never really goes to your head and you can kind of participate in it. It’s about the fans themselves. A lot of people, they just like doing Twilight-related things.”
And his costar, Taylor Lautner, agreed.
“It’s really unlike anything else,” Lautner, 18, says. “It’s amazing; over the past two years, I’ve had the time of my life. I couldn’t be more thankful.”