Kristen Stewart has been unable to shake off Princess Diana after playing the late royal in Spencer, the 2021 film that explored her struggles with the royal family, her eating disorder and the breakdown of her marriage to then Prince Charles.
The actor, who received an Oscar nomination for her performance in Pablo Larraín’s movie, said she is on the verge of tears whenever she starts to think about the princess.
She said she was “haunted” by her in a new interview, adding: “I still am. I can’t drive around London, and Paris for that matter, without thinking about her… all the love that poured out of this woman.
”I can cry about her at any moment,” she told The Telegraph.
Stewart said the costume she wore in the film, set during a miserable Christmas in 1991 at the royal residence Sandringham, was “part of the armour”, which “allowed” her to step into Diana’s “physical space and create images of her in this prison of a castle”.
The actor also acknowledged that she was ideal casting as she shared many experiences with Diana, having been hounded by the media following her role in the Twilight franchise.
“It does kind of soul-suck,” she said. “Her rebellious qualities felt so desperate, and so young and so vulnerable.”
Stewart added that she felt “a bit like a shell” when the shoot ended, stating: “I think she did too. That was the point.”
At the time of the film’s release, Stewart said she experienced “spooky, spiritual feelings” while making the film, and felt that Diana had given her the “sign-off” to perform the role.
“Even if I was just fantasising. I felt like there were moments where I kind of got the sign-off,” she told the LA Times. “She felt so alive to me when I was making this movie, even if it was just a fantasy of mine. But there were moments where my body and mind would forget she was dead.”
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Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.
Stewart has turned director for new psychological drama The Chronology of Water, which is being released in the UK this week, nine months after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
It follows a woman, played by Imogen Poots, who harnesses her childhood trauma into success as a competitive swimmer.
