(REUTERS) - Robert Pattinson talked paparazzi at the Berlin Film Festival, where he took part in a news conference for his film Life.

In the movie, Pattinson plays photographer Dennis Stock, the man behind some of the most iconic photos of actor James Dean.

"I don't know, I did feel like being a paparazzi for a second. I do empathise with their plight, a day full of self loathing and wretchedness. I wanted to really harm myself at the end of every day so I do feel for them. At the end of the day I feel they go home and beat themselves. That's what I was doing to get into character," said Pattinson, laughing.

Pattinson is no stranger to the paparazzi, having been followed himself after becoming a break-out star in the Twilight series and ending his relationship with Kristen Stewart after a photographer snapped a picture of her kissing director Rupert Sanders.