Arabic version: باتينسون يتحدث عن دور «مرعب» في «برايم تايم»

According to BBC News, Robert Pattinson plays the real-life host of American television programme To Catch a Predator in the new A24 crime thriller Primetime, which screened at the London Film Festival. The actor said the film’s subject matter was especially troubling to him as a parent.

To Catch a Predator, which aired from 2004 to 2007, involved pursuing alleged child abusers. Pattinson portrays NBC journalist Chris Hansen, who conducted sting operations on would-be predators. The programme was a ratings success, but it also raised questions about the boundaries between investigative journalism, police activity and reality television.

Speaking at the festival, Pattinson said the story represented “the most terrifying thing that can happen to you, whether you’re a parent, or even if you’re not”. He said the programme suggested that action could be taken quickly, but added that its power as television brought it into “slightly dicey territory”.

Pattinson also said comparable material has moved to social media, describing a growing wave of “predator catching” content in a format similar to that seen in the early 2000s. Hansen has criticised the film as “bizarre” and “detached from reality” in a video posted on X.

Director Lance Oppenheim said that separation from realism was deliberate, calling the film more of a “fever dream” than a representational portrait. He said the film examines the longstanding public desire to watch people being punished.