Kristen Stewart has spoken openly about how certain roles leave a mark. One such performance continues to stay with her in a deeply personal way. Years after portraying Princess Diana in Spencer, the actress admits the experience still lingers in her everyday life.
Kristen Stewart on the impact of playing Princess Diana in Spencer
Stewart recently reflected on the lasting effect of stepping into Diana’s life while speaking in an interview. She said she still feels “haunted” by the late Princess of Wales and admitted that even now, places like London and Paris instantly bring Diana to mind. “I still am,” Stewart said, explaining that the emotional weight of the role never fully lifted after filming ended.
That emotional pull, Stewart added, comes from Diana’s overwhelming humanity. Speaking about the public’s love for the princess, she said (via The Telegraph), “All the love that poured out of this woman… I can cry about her at any moment.” Diana left the world in 1997 at age 36 following a car accident in Paris, a city Stewart now closely associates with her memory.
The Hollywood star also acknowledged how deeply she related to Diana’s struggles with constant media attention. Stewart, who has had her own complicated relationship with fame, said that overlap played a key role in director Pablo Larraín’s decision to cast her. Describing Diana’s treatment by photographers, Stewart said she was “plucked to death” and called her rebellious streak “desperate” and deeply vulnerable.
Initially, Stewart doubted she was right for the role. She recalled telling Larraín he was “insane” to cast her, pointing out obvious physical differences, including eye color. Still, the director insisted the performance was about capturing Diana’s inner life, her “spirit,” not surface-level resemblance. This ultimately became the choice that earned Stewart her first Oscar nomination.
Since Spencer, Stewart has continued expanding creatively, recently making her feature directorial debut with The Chronology of Water. She has also been candid about wanting to “make more movies in Europe.”
Originally reported by Rishabh Shandilya for ComingSoon.
