Robert Pattinson fell in love with elephant co-star

The Twilight star said his close relationship with Tai – the 9,000lb animal used in upcoming film Water For Elephants – was “based purely on candy”.

“I strategically placed mints – I sucked on them for a bit and then stuck them onto [my] body, my armpits, like covering my entire chest all the time and didn’t tell anyone,” he laughed.

“So every time the elephant would be constantly sniffing me, I’d be like ‘I don’t know. She just really likes me! It’s crazy’.”

He added: “I think she was just sniffing around for treats.”

The 24-year-old actor, who stars alongside Reese Witherspoon in the 1930s circus movie, previously admitted that he wept when the elephant finished its final scenes.

“[Tai] was the best actor I ever worked with in my life,” he said. “I cried when the elephant was wrapped. I never cried when anyone else was wrapped.”

The movie’s director, Francis Lawrence, confirmed the unlikely love affair between the pair, saying: “I wouldn’t be surprised if Rob says the reason he took the movie was because of the elephant. He really fell in love.”

Water For Elephants, which is based on the historical novel of the same name by Sara Gruen, is due to be released in the US later this month.