When Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín asked her to play Princess Diana in a film that is far from a classic biographical drama, Kristen Stewart had no idea whether she could live up to it or not. And that’s exactly why she accepted this great role in Spencer. Maintenance.
To say that she was surprised that Pablo Larraín called on her to play Diana Spencer hardly describes the extent of her astonishment. At 31, and with more than 20 years of experience behind her, Kristen Stewart had never before experienced such vertigo.
“Before accepting a role, an actor must assess his own aptitudes and take responsibility for what he claims to be able to do,” she confided during a videoconference interview with Press. Diving into the unknown and trying to tame the chaos a bit as it presents itself is obviously part of this job, but you still have to be confident in your abilities. In this case, I had absolutely no idea. I also told myself that at this point in my career and in my life, as an artist, I had to move towards terrifying things. Otherwise, you might as well stop everything! ”
An ambitious summit
Planetary star since the first installment of the film series Twilight, the actress has been keen over the years to also lend her talent to filmmakers from elsewhere, just to transform an image that may be a little too smooth for her taste. Walter Salles appealed to her in On the road. She recently told the Sunday Times that the two feature films that she shot with Olivier Assayas, Sils Maria and Personal Shopper, are among the few of which she is truly proud. Benedict Andrews had him play Jean Seberg in Seberg. That said, this role of Diana in Spencer for her was akin to an ambitious summit, of a kind that had never before presented itself on her road.
PHOTO JOEL C RYAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
In a recent presentation by Spencer at the London festival, Kristen Stewart saw Jack Nielen and Freddie Spry, the two young actors who, in Pablo Larraín’s film, play Prince William and Prince Harry.
“I was completely ready to navigate in there and get involved in the character,” she explains. I wanted to learn everything from Diana to better forget everything then so that the instinct is installed through the soul of the character, his way of moving, of expressing himself too. Even if Spencer is not a classic biographical film, it was necessary to keep a background of truth. ”
Even before the appearance of the first image, we are also warned. Spencer is a “fable inspired by a real tragedy”. The setting in which the plot takes place is real, but Pablo Larraín, to whom we owe in particular No, Neruda and Jackie, nevertheless offers a fictitious vision, sometimes even bordering on surrealism. The screenplay, written by Steven Knight (Burnt, Allied), focuses on the last Christmas party Diana attended with the Royal Family, at Sandringham House in 1991, before she divorced Prince Charles.
An exploded story
Kristen Stewart evokes an experience that is both “strong and strange” and praises the quality of a work where “no one claims to know anything”. Even though the tale is shattered and sprinkled with evocative mental imagery (Diana even has visions of Anne Boylen, whose beheading Henry VIII, her husband, ordered), the craftsmen still followed certain rules.
“As long as something seemed wrong, we gave up,” explains the actress. For example, we wanted me to smoke a cigarette in a scene, but in the end we didn’t because Diana hated smoke. On the other hand, the episode of his life that the film echoes has been the subject of so many contradictory interpretations that we liked to play on this mystery. Everyone wanted to know her, but, ironically, and sadly, no one could claim to really know her. ”
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ENTRACT FILMS
Spencer, by Pablo Larraín, has nothing of the classic biographical drama.
When the Princess of Wales tragically died in a car accident in the tunnel under the Alma Bridge in Paris in 1997, Kristen Stewart was a little girl. She grew up keeping the image of a simple, honest and open-minded woman, in whom there was some discomfort because she was unable to cheat and hide anything. Like a thread constantly under tension.
“It is also completely paradoxical to note the discomfort of a woman who nevertheless had an exceptional ease to approach people, to make them feel good. It was innate in her, like a natural talent. ”
A turning point?
Since the launch of Spencer at the Venice Film Festival, several observers claim that Kristen Stewart offers a composition worthy of an Oscar citation. In the eyes of an actress whose career began at the age of 9, it is difficult to determine if this feature film will mark a turning point, but it is certain that the role she plays in it is undoubtedly one of the most important. that she will have played. Having grown up on movie sets thanks to her parents, both of whom were part of production teams, Kristen Stewart could not have seen her life elsewhere.
“I believe I have been biologically contaminated! she says. When I was little, I insisted that my mother let me audition. I was extremely embarrassed and found a way to express things there. If it hadn’t worked out as an actress, I would probably work in a film profession, maybe in artistic direction. In any case, I would try to get as close to the movie sets as possible, that’s for sure. ”
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ENTRACT FILMS
Kristen Stewart felt it would have been better to stop everything rather than turn down the difficult role Pablo Larraín offered her in Spencer.
Now in her thirties and having access to more complex roles, the actress is reluctant to talk about new maturity, but she appreciates the range of characters she has access to.
“If I could pull myself away from myself and look at myself from the outside, I would no doubt see a progression that I am proud of. I admit that for the moment, I like to age. It’s a great feeling. As if heart and mind could finally meet. As for the Oscars, it’s not for me to decide… ”
Spencer hits theaters on November 5.