Robert Pattinson Felt Like He Was Doing a "Striptease" in New Moon

Female fans swooned earlier this year when photos surfaced of a shirtless Robert Pattinson filming New Moon.

But the heartthrob, 23, didn't like taking it off.

"I felt pretty goofy stepping out into the sunlight in front of 2,000 people in a town square, ripping my clothes off," he tells Parade. "I was essentially doing a striptease."

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Still, he felt the scene had some irony. He says it was "one of the moments where I've really felt closest to people's emotional attachment to Edward," he says. "There were so many extras in that scene who were Twilight fans who had flown in just to be a part of it. It was a moment where I've felt the whole weight of anticipation, and I guess responsibility as well, of being Edward, for all the people who were kind of so obsessed with the stories. It was quite uplifting, and it was also very nerve-wracking."

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When it comes to Twilight, he says he has some things in common with his character, the vampire Edward.

"Edward is pretty self-righteous, and I guess I am too," he tells Parade. "I get quite obsessive about things and possessive as well."

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He says he has "very specific ideas" about how he wants to do his work and how he wants to be perceived "to the point of ridiculousness sometimes."

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"I don't listen to anyone else," says Pattinson. "That's why I don't have a publicist. I can't stand it if someone is trying to tell me to do something, even if it's probably a mistake sometimes. I'm like a control freak about it. I've never really struggled with anything until recently. I've got to stop being so self-depreciating because people are starting to believe it. Like, 'That guy is an idiot.'"