Kristen Stewart has spoken about the deep connection she felt with Princess Diana while portraying her in new film Spencer.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, the film proved a critical hit at the recent Venice and Telluride festivals.
The biopic is set during a Christmas at Sandringham in 1991, as Diana decides to divorce Prince Charles. Alongside Stewart the cast also features Sally Hawkins, Sean Harris, Timothy Spall, Stella Gonet and Jack Farthing (as Charles).
Speaking to the LA Times, Stewart says she “felt some spooky, spiritual feelings” during filming, adding there were moments when she felt she got “sign-off” from Diana to play her. She had a dialect coach and studied the late Princess's posture, but said ultimately she had to be willing to let herself “fall into” the role to capture her “feral cat feel”.
“She felt so alive to me when I was making this movie,” she continued, “even if it’s all between the ears and it was just a fantasy of mine. But there were moments where my body and mind would forget she was dead. And suddenly, I would just have an image of what happened. And remember who she left behind.”
8 Top Videos for UK Actors to Hone Their Craft Spencer has been praised by critics for showing a more anarchic version of Diana than is usually portrayed. She swears frequently and even communes with the ghost of Anne Boleyn (played by Amy Manson).
“Our movie is dramatized as hell,” Stewart told reporter Glenn Whipp. “But it was still a fight to keep her alive every day, and so remembering that she was dead was just absolutely lacerating. It just destroyed me constantly. And that itself felt spiritual ... there were times where I was like, ‘Oh, God,’ almost like she was, you know, trying to break through. It was weird. And amazing. I’ve never felt anything like it in my life.”
Spencer is set to be released in cinemas on 5 November.
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