kristen stewart
ACTRESS KRISTEN STEWART REVEALS HER ADMIRATION FOR THE PRINCESS OF WALES AS SHE OPENS UP ON HER ROLE IN THE UPCOMING BIOPIC SPENCER
Interest in the royals has never been greater than it is right now, so it’s no surprise another story about the late Princess Diana is hitting our screens later this year in biopic Spencer. Playing the title role of the Princess of Wales, who passed away in a tragic car accident in 1997, is Twilight star Kristen Stewart. And the La-born actress tells us it’s been a “really cool experience” getting into the role of Diana.
While avid fans of Diana had an insight into her life in the fourth season of The Crown, Kristen says she plays a slightly older version of the royal than Emma Corrin portrayed in the Netflix show.
“I guess we’re pretty lucky because there’s no crossover,” she explains.
Here, Kristen, 31, reveals how she prepared for her role, her memories of the real life Di and how she’s keen to dispel rumours around the princess’s controversial life...
Hi Kristen. What does Princess Diana mean to you?
Getting to know Diana has been a really cool experience. She means a lot to me – but it’s all relatively new because I’m from LA and I didn’t grow up in England. Before this, she was not something that was at the forefront of my mind because I lived so far away from it all. Now, I can’t stop thinking about her. I often wonder what she’d think about what’s going on in the world right now.
How did you research this iconic role?
To be honest, I’ve now consumed pretty much all there is to consume in terms of videos and interviews. I’ve watched everything that you could hear or see. I even go to sleep with it on.
How would you describe Diana?
I feel like Diana was someone who was very alone. I feel like she had to reach out from this really insular place and that’s why she had this immense connection with her fans, because she was so isolated and lonely in her real life. In order to survive, it was like she needed to reach out to other people. It was an audacious way to connect with people when others don’t want you to do that.
Do you personally have any memories about Diana?
I remember when Diana died, but I was really young at that time. I think it was maybe the first time that I saw that type of outpouring of love for a human. As a little kid, you wonder what type of person would get that response. It’s like, “Who garners that energetic outpouring of love and why?”
What do you think of Diana now?
What I‘ve learnt is from an amalgamation of perspectives. There’s no way to really know because there’s no true perspective – everyone had a different experience and a different relationship with her. Personally, I think her legacy being her boys is one of the most telling things about her. She feels like someone who came from a place of empathy. Even at her most vulnerable and maybe at her most chaotic, she was reflective of someone who had it together.
She was certainly loved by the masses…
When you get this outpouring of voracious love from people, there’s this weird balance of being unloved and yet so greatly loved. You don’t know how you feel about yourself in the midst of that. And then, having children at such a young age and having that basically be your beating heart… Whoah! I can’t imagine being that age and dealing with that, as well as doing all the things she did in her life, all the work she did for others.
What do you think of Emma Corrin’s portrayal of Diana in The Crown?
Emma killed it and she should be very proud of herself. Her performance is so moving. I’m sure there are lots of gossipy people out there thinking, “Ooh, there are two people playing her at the same time now.” Well, I play Diana at a later stage in her life. I play her when she’s almost 30 and Emma played her much younger. But I absolutely love the show.
How does your portrayal of Diana differ from Emma’s?
I feel like she’s played as a bit of a child [in The Crown]. In her first scene she says something like she’s a little kid. She says something about being a mad tree and I was already bawling because you know what happens to her. You know how that potential just withers away. I’m only halfway through the season, so I’m sure she grows up. I think she gets up to the age that I play, which is about a year after the storyline of The Crown ends. I guess we’re pretty lucky because there’s no crossover.
What will audiences learn about Diana in Spencer?
Essentially, our movie is about Diana’s immersion into the world as someone who was not in the royal family before. It’s about what it was like to shatter that fantasy world. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to do that – but I love consuming all the finer details from her life. Personally, I can’t wait to take all the rumours away.