Why Did Playing Princess Diana Make Kristen Stewart So Nervous?

Stewart told News, "I had the TMJ [his jaws stay closed] to the point where I was completely closed. "I was like, 'Um, I guess I was nervous - I was tripping until we started.' " The film is directed by Chilean-born Pablo Laraine, who previously ran Natalie Portman for the 2017 Oscar nomination for Jackie for another highly researched community of women, Jacqueline Kennedy.

The director told Stewart to "relax also trust the process" and rely on his thorough preparation for the role. The Los Angeles-based actress who previously starred in Twilight said she didn't start with a broad knowledge base.

"I don't have the most developed or specific relationship with the royal family as a whole," he said. "I didn't grow up with saga." But he added, "Obviously, I live on planet Earth, and the effect was huge and emotional, even for someone who was seven years old when he died." Stewart, who has received rave reviews for her performance, said she did a lot of research to study Diana's life.

"I read everything, I want every picture ... I've seen all the interviews I got," he told BBC entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba. "I've seen The Crown; I've seen every iteration of interpretation. So I'm just trying to swallow it in an emotional and general way, and then trust the process and expect it to come."

The burden of responsibility to play such an inspirational and highly acclaimed public figure resulted in Stewart having to anchor a portrait based on his feelings because there are so many opinions about the princess.

"I felt like protecting him," he said. "I don't have to focus on other people's ideas; I have to focus on my ideas. And that itself is very different and specific to me."

Stewart said he would not disappoint Diana's memory, stating, "I thought I had to rely on her to be impulsive. Everything I see in him, whether it's interviews or even silence, always feels that way when you don't know what will happen.

"And that's because he has vulnerabilities and raw emotions that he can't hide. So there is no way to make a perfect impression. Set over three intense days at the Sandringham Royal Provincial Residence in Norfolk, the film is described by Stewart as "poetic sounding turbulent that feels so wild, beautiful and happy."