Kristen Stewart on playing Princess Diana: "I knew there was no way to play this part perfectly"

Kristen Stewart has talked about playing Princess Diana in upcoming biopic Spencer.

"She's such a live wire and somebody who has this incredibly disarming, casual, contagious, beautiful, empathetic, warm energy that reaches out, but at the same time you always feel like there's something wrong – she's protecting something," Stewart said at Toronto International Film Festival (H/T Indie Wire). "You never know what's going to happen. She walks into the room and the earth starts shaking."

The actor continued: "So I knew there was no way to play this part perfectly and therefore it was easier. Or at least easier to not be so intimidated and so daunted. I could only be my version of that and kind of hope that if I learned everything about her and absorbed her and kind of meld, and be both me and her in some sort of weird way, it was going to be the best version."

One particular aspect of Diana's personality was important to Stewart to capture accurately, however. "I think that her strength and her power and her feral, unstoppable force of nature really, really comes out when she was with her kids. She wasn't very good at protecting herself, but she was really good at protecting them," she commented. "If you don't get that right, you don't get her right."

Spencer might not have been released yet, but Stewart's performance is already garnering Oscar buzz. The film, helmed by Jackie director Pablo Larraín, spans three days in 1991. It focuses on Diana as she spends Christmas with the royal family at Sandringham – and makes the decision to end her marriage to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing). Timothy Spall and Sally Hawkins also star in the film, which was penned by Peaky Blinders' Steven Knight.

The film arrives to theaters this November 5. Until then, check out our guide to all of 2021's upcoming major movie release dates.