Robert Pattinson Photo: CFP

British actor and Twilight star Robert Pattinson says playing a photographer in his latest film has made him more sympathetic to the paparazzi.

In Life, Pattinson plays Dennis Stock, the man behind some of the most famous photos of legendary actor James Dean.

The film explores the friendship between the two men as Dean was starting out in Hollywood in the 50s and Stock saw a star in the making, eventually getting him a cover spread in Life magazine.

For Pattinson, 28, whose boyish looks and huge following among teenage girls after his performances in the Twilight films have frequently made him a target of paparazzi, the film forced him to acknowledge that the job of celebrity photographer isn't always easy.

"I did feel like being a paparazzi for a second. I do empathize with their plight," Pattinson told a press conference at the Berlin International Film Festival where Life, directed by Dutch photographer-turned-filmmaker Anton Corbijn, was screened this week.

"At the end of the day I feel they go home and beat themselves. That's what I was doing to get into character," he added, laughing.

Pattinson said that, like many other actors, he had looked up to Dean who was killed in a car crash aged 24.