'To Catch a Predator' Star Chris Hansen Responds to Robert Pattinson's Movie Portrayal: 'Very Dramatic'
Robert Pattinson stunned fans when a trailer was released for his upcoming movie, Primetime, where he portrays To Catch a Predator star, Chris Hansen. The TV personality spoke out after the trailer was released with a cryptic response on his involvement and the actor's role.
Hansen appeared in an interview for NewsNation, where Jesse Weber asked about the recent trailer premiere. Primetime is an upcoming biographical crime film by director Lance Oppenheim based on the Dateline NBC reality program To Catch a Predator. Pattinson stars alongside Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Matthew Maher, and Bokeem Woodbine in supporting roles.
"What? There's a movie trailer? What will they think of next?" said Hansen when the topi cof the trailer was brought up. He went on to ask if Pattison was that "actor" and the "young, talented guy?"
It appears that Weber wasn't 100% satisfied with Hansen's answer and pressed on if the TV personality had any involvement with the film. The To Catch a Predator star gave a cryptic response and admitted they had heard something about the film.
"We had heard that there was something like this in the works. They reached out to me this week, and I've been asked not to talk about it a great deal at this point," he said.
Hansen went on to describe Pattinson's portrayal of him in the trailer as "very dramatic" and promised NewsNation that he would return to talk about the film when it's the right time. Based on his response, it's unclear whether or not Primetime consulted Hansen about the film's storyline.
Primetime was announced in October of 2024, with Oppenheim making his directorial debut and A24 behind its financing. Pattison was reported to have been attached as its producer, with the reveal of his leading role a bit of a surprise.
To Catch a Predator was a reality hidden camera TV series that aired on Dateline NBC in November 2004. It quickly gained notoriety as Hansen served as its host, going undercover in a sting operation to confront adult men meeting with minors to have sexual intercourse. More often than not, the sting operations led to arrests with the help of local law enforcement.
The series was cancelled in 2008 following the suicide of Rockwall County, Texas, assistant district attorney Bill Conradt. Police attempted to serve him a search warrant after a sting operation caught him talking and exchanging photos with a 13-year-old decoy.
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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 11:58 AM.