Talk about big love!
Robert Pattinson fell in love with a star much larger than Reese Witherspoon on the set of their new movie Water For Elephants — Tai, a 9,000-pound Asian elephant. But at a Sunday press junket for the 1930s-era circus romance, the 24-year-old Twilight hunk admitted it was more than just his sweet personality that attracted his gigantic costar.
"Who started this thing?" he laughed, answering a question about his "on-set romance" with the creature. "I mean, I've heard it all day and it sounds really disturbing. I mean, I had a relationship with the elephant, but it was based purely on candy."
"I strategically placed mints– like suck on them for a bit and then stick them onto [my] body, my armpits, like covering my entire chest all the time, and [didn't] tell anyone," he admitted. "So every time the elephant would be like constantly sniffing me, I'd be like, 'I don't know! She just really likes me! It's crazy!' Yeah, I think she was just sniffing around for treats."
Still, last month Pattinson told Vanity Fair: "[Tai] was the best actor I ever worked with in my life. I cried when the elephant was wrapped. I never cried when anyone else was wrapped."
The film's director, Francis Lawrence, confirmed the unlikely romance, saying, "I wouldn't be surprised if Rob says the reason he took the movie was because of the elephant. He really fell in love."
Witherspoon confessed that unlike her costar, she was scared of working with the elephant. "I was terrified basically. I screamed. I like animals, yeah, but this was a completely unique experience."
