Robert Pattinson, star of teen vampire movie Twilight, has revealed that US rapper Emimen was one of his heroes as a youngster.

The 22-year-old actor told the BBC he admired Eminem because he was “really into rap”. He also spoke fondly of Jay Kay from Jamiroquai.

Pattinson, who is currently preparing to shoot the next movie in the Twilight series, spoke candidly in a recent interview about his interest in music.

“Music is my backup plan if acting fails,” he told the LA Times. “I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket.”

Two of Pattinson's own original compositions are included on the soundtrack to Twilight. But the actor stressed that he didn't want fans to think he was trying “cash in” on the movie's success.

“That’s what I was scared about, it looks like I’m trying to get a music career out of it or something,” he said. “I’m not going to be doing any music videos or anything.

CLICK HERE to see Gigwise's Top 50 Greatest Movie Soundtracks gallery.

As previously reported on Gigwise, Eminem is due to release his new album, 'Relapse', in the spring.

The album has been produced alongside long time collaborator Dr Dre and features a guest appearance from 50 Cent.