Kristen Stewart says it took her "four months" to master Princess Diana's accent for 'Spencer'.
Kristen Stewart at the BFI Film Festival screening of Spencer
The 31-year old actress - who received her first Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Princess Diana in Pablo Larraín's 2021 historical fiction film – worked tirelessly with a voice coach to master the voice of late British royal Diana - the ex-wife of Prince Charles and mother to Prince William and Prince Harry who died in August 1997 at the age of 36.
Despite all her hard work, the 'Twilight' star was still nervous about speaking as Diana when the cameras started rolling.
She said: “I needed four months because it’s a really physical thing. I consider my ear to be kind of attuned to things, but I had to completely trust my coach. When we first started shooting; I was like. ‘Am I ready? Does it sound good to you?’ And he was like, ‘Absolutely’. It got better as we shot, so I know that he was just saying that to give me confidence because there was really not much more he could do. He wasn’t going to be like, ‘Actually, you’re not there.'"
Kristen also described her challenge of trying to master Diana’s royal curtsy, something that must be performed by women when in front of British monarch Queen Elizabeth - the mother of Prince Charles.
Speaking to the US version of OK! magazine, Kristen said: “She was a little bit lighter, taller and longer than me, and I just thought about that and looked at a lot pf pictures. The curtsy is tiny. People do too much and then fall over. It’s just like a little tiny head tilt and one foot. Obviously only women do it, but women who wear heels – that’s harder. I can do it, though! I’ve got balance.”
The film is a fictional reimagining of the Princess of Wales' life and marriage to Charles, 73, and is loosely based on a tense family Christmas Diana spent with her royal in-laws in 1991.
The name ‘Spencer’ was derived from the Spencer tiara which graced Diana’s head on the day of her wedding to Prince Charles. The royal diadem was on loan to the Princess from Queen Elizabeth II’s personal collection.
Tagged in Princess Diana Kristen Stewart Pablo Larrain