Maybe it’s a nod to his former vampire alter ego, but Robert Pattinson wants blood.

“I was having a dream the other night about a Chicago steak,” the actor said Tuesday. “I had one on the first ‘Twilight’ tour, and certain things just stick in your mind. Maybe it’s my inner vampire coming out again.”

With a trademark laugh, Pattinson knows he will get his wish. He will film the gangster movie “Idol’s Eye” with Robert De Niro in Chicago in October. “I love Chicago,” he says. “It’s one of those cities where I can walk around and people are really kind. They respect that there are times I need a little silence.”


He also found that silence working in the Australian Outback for his new movie “The Rover” (opening Friday), where Pattinson plays Ray, a young man on a mission to survive a wild desert trip and killing spree with another drifter played by Guy Pierce.

Q. What was it like filming in the Outback?
A: I really love the desert because you can be alone, which is very nice. I could just wander off a bit and no one cared because there wasn’t a single soul for thousands of miles. Most of the towns where we filmed had one street. The other cool thing is that when I was mobbed, it was by a bunch of kangaroos who lived there or the wild camels. I respect these people who are out there, too, living off the grid. It was perfect for me to be a bit off the grid where I didn’t have to look over my shoulder. No one was taking a picture of me doing something stupid.

Q. You’ve said that you had to audition for Ray in “The Rover.” Really? After starring in that big franchise?
A: One hundred percent I have to audition unless I’m playing something in my wheelhouse. If I’m doing a vampire thing, they better hire me. You’ve seen my vampire act.

Q. You’ve had quite a few years with your life splashed out in the tabloids. How do you keep it together and not develop an attitude?
A: I really don’t know how I do it. It’s weird. I went through a period where I was a bit more stressed. Once I got through that period of time, I just figured that your life contracts a little bit when you get famous. Yes, I was frustrated about not doing the things I used to do, like walking around anonymously. But you get used to it. In the end, I just let it all go and have accepted that it’s a different kind of life.

Q. You have films coming up from David Cronenberg [“Maps to the Stars” this fall] and Werner Herzog, plus the De Niro movie. Have you shaken Edward Cullen from “Twilight” off for good?
A: I’m constantly surprised that I’ve been able to have a career post-”Twilight.” I still think it’s going to end at any second. I always figured anything else after “Twilight” was just a bonus. ... It is nice to look at my resume now. I’d be jealous of me if I wasn’t me.

Q. Finally ... you’re a steak guy and not a Chicago pizza type?
A. Let’s clear this up. I’m 100 percent a Chicago pizza guy, but when you’ve been dreaming of a good steak, you need to start with a knife and a fork in your hands — and some good steak sauce