Robert Pattinson was almost fired from Twilight

Robert Pattinson has his agents to thank for keeping him in the Twilight cast after acting up on the set of the first movie.

The British actor shot to fame as vampire Edward Cullen in the hit film franchise, but he was almost fired from the original 2008 movie, which was directed by Catherine Hardwicke.

In a new interview with The New York Times, Robert reveals his talent agents had to fly in to the set in Canada to reprimand him, and the stern warning was enough to make him rethink his behavior.

"I didn't have to kiss anybody's (butt) the entire time," he recalled. "I don't think I did, anyway."

Pattinson went on to star in four Twilight sequels, and looking back, he admits working on the blockbusters was "an amazing luxury".

And talking about his cast members, including leading lady and real-life ex-girlfriend Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, he said, "(It was) amazing luck, as well, to just have fallen into it with the group of people I worked with on it."

And Robert, now 31, has no problem with being forever linked to the Twilight films, because the exposure he gained from the franchise allowed him to take on more varied projects.

"I think one of the best things, basically, about being a bit of a sell-out, is if you've done five movies in a series, you've had to accept some responsibility for playing the same character," he shared.

He claims David Cronenberg's dystopian fantasy Cosmopolis, the first of Robert's projects released after Twilight ended, is one of his favorites to date.

"I especially love the fact that it came out really at the height of my popularity," he said. "(It was) the big turning point for me - I just realized that was what I wanted to do."

Robert won critical praise for his starring role as a cold-hearted and calculating billionaire in the 2012 movie, and he has continued to impress with his latest picture, Good Times, which recently premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival - and received a standing ovation.