Robert Pattinson hates talking about his private life but the British actor can't stop reading about himself in gossip magazines.

The Twilight star has been a regular in the headlines since shooting to fame in the vampire movie franchise, but the tabloid frenzy reached a peak last month when his co-star and girlfriend Kristen Stewart confessed to an "indiscretion" with married director Rupert Sanders.

Despite the scandal, Pattinson decided not to cancel planned interviews to promote his new movie Cosmopolis, but he has refused to talk about his romantic problems, insisting he has "never been interested in trying to sell" details of his personal life.

However, the actor admits he is constantly reading what is being written about him and compares his love for gossip to an "addiction".

In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, he says, "Yeah, I read it. It's my life. You sort of want to read it. You feel like you need to read it. It's one of those things where you keep picking the scab. You know you shouldn't be doing it. But it's a weird kind of addiction. You desperately want to stop."