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Chris Hansen has issued an “open invitation” to Robert Pattinson to discuss the actor’s portrayal of him in A24’s Primetime.
The television host, 67, is best known for confronting suspected pedophiles on the controversial reality series To Catch a Predator.
Now, he wants to sit down with the 40-year-old actor who played him in the recent movie.
Speaking on his podcast, Have a Seat with Chris Hansen, the veteran journalist said: “You know, it dawned on me the other day that there’s a guy who has been asked a lot of questions about me, and I’ve been asked a lot of questions regarding him. And that guy is Robert Pattinson.”
He continued: “Of course, you know he’s the actor who portrays me — or a character with my name, image, and likeness — in the movie Primetime. And I thought, wouldn’t it be great if Robert Pattinson would have a seat with me and talk about all of this?”
Hansen added: “So this is an open invitation for Robert Pattinson to come on my show and talk about the movie, talk about his career. I know he’s a busy guy, I know I’m a busy guy, but Robert, come have a seat, anytime.”
Pattinson is reportedly currently shooting a Batman movie in London, and Hansen offered to meet him there.
Hansen has previously been critical of Primetime, describing the film as “a completely made up work of fiction.”
He has said that he was not asked to be involved in the making of Primetime, and told The Hollywood Reporter that it “seems sneaky and disingenuous.”
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“You look at the trailer, and there’s nothing in it that actually happened in real life,” he said. “That raises the question: Why use somebody’s name, image and likeness? They do that because it has commercial value. The name is a brand, and the brand brings people into theatres, just as it does to my podcasts, my network and everything else we do.”
But Hansen also claimed to not be “obsessed” with the movie, either, as he is largely still focused on pedophile stings. “I’ve got work to do,” he said. “It’s a full-time job being the real Chris Hansen, much less worrying about a fictional movie. We’re not going to be taken advantage of or rolled over. But I don’t spend sleepless hours on it.”
To Catch a Predator proved a controversial sensation while it was on the air, with Hansen becoming an overnight star. But the show was swiftly cancelled in 2008 when a 56-year-old assistant district attorney killed himself in his home shortly after a sting involving a fake child had taken place, with crew members from To Catch a Predator capturing the suicide on camera.