Kidzworld interviews Kristen on bringing the Twilight saga’s Bella full circle and her own personal changes.
At our usual haunt in the hills of Beverly [The posh Four Seasons hotel], we sat down with Kristen Stewart on the day she placed her hand and footprints into permanent fan glory on Hollywood Boulevard. We found her to still be so not full of herself, loving her meaty role in the last two Twilight saga films and moving on playing Snow White in her next film.
Kidzworld: Hi. Love the long, dark hair.
- Kristen: Thank you!
Kidzworld: Fans want to know, what was going through your mind in the wedding scene as you're walking down the aisle? You can see all these emotions in your face, so what were you really thinking?
- Kristen: I had a million different things going through my head and kind of what I kept telling myself was like, 'Stop, stop, stop! Just do it [the scene]. Actually have this experience because you're just about to ruin it”. I think that I was so in the right place to do it that I needed to just put the dress on and go and stand there and walk and see [Robert/Edward] and everyone.
- The most common question for actors is like, “How do you remember all your lines?” It's literally, it's the last thing I think about if you know a story so well, they just come out. I just kept telling myself, 'Just find yourself in this moment and appreciate it or else you're going to look back and go, "God, why didn't I just take that ride, like just do it?" And it would've been better in the movie anyway and yeah, I tried the best I could.
Kidzworld: Rob’s been telling everyone that there was a real priest at the movie wedding so maybe you two are really married… by accident. What do you have to say to that?
- Kristen: Honestly, that's the first I've heard of that. He couldn't even remember the vows [laughter]. Maybe he was nervous. He was great. He did great. It's just that he kept saying our [real] names as well. And I think he also called me like, Bella Marie - like Bella Elizabeth, or something. It was like he definitely messed up my middle name. That's a funny story to come out of all of this because that wasn't my memory of it. Was [the guy] even necessarily a real ordained minister? I'd like to find out. I don't know.
Kidzworld: Bella lost a lot of weight, it appeared, between the honeymoon and then while the baby was growing. Was any of that you?
- Kristen: [It was] digital [in computer]. I didn't have time and everything was so sporadically shot. To do that, we would have had to shut down production for a couple months while I lost the weight or gained it back, whichever we did first. That really is so cool that you're saying that though, that it looked that way. I felt like “I hope you [computer] guys do a good job”,’cause I don’t do that part. And it can ruin you, obviously, if you look ridiculous. So those guys are amazing at what they do. So yeah, thanks.
Kidzworld: Bella goes through major milestones in the film. One of them is becoming a parent. Do you ever think about yourself doing that?
- Kristen: Yeah. Ah, it's funny, it's such a far-fetched story and all. But it's really not if you compare it to someone who's my age and people don’t agree with their decision. A lot of milestones are crammed into this movie. This was a unique situation. Everything is speeded up, making it very unreal. I definitely looked down [at the belly]. My favorite image when I think of (Breaking Dawn Part 1) is I think of a cat, like in the corner, claws out, belly swollen, like “Stay the F away from me!” And it's so cool and I would only really identify with that. But yeah, of course, I sort of can't wait. Lots of heavy milestones in this…. Heavy, heavy.
Kidzworld: You, Taylor and Rob have been through this whole experience together since the very beginning. What do those two men bring to the whole experience on set that no one else could?
- Kristen: I couldn't have done this [without them]. If you insert different numbers into the equation you're going to get a different answer. But, I can't imagine what this movie would've been if I didn't have really, really solid and always growing relationships with them. The most common question is, “So are you guys a big family? You love each other? You like to talk to each other?” Yeah, but it, it's more of like the idea that when I don't see Taylor for a while, suddenly I go [GASPS] and you take your phone out. It's not like I see him all the time or every day. When you work with people like that, you can give so much, you're so comfortable. You can do no wrong [because] they've got you. I think we all just got along and so it shows.
Kidzworld: Your fans have asked us to “Please tell her she inspires us to really be ourselves.” Have you really had a chance to process the impact you've had on so many women and girls?
- Kristen: I love that but I hate when people say, “What advice do you want to give your fans?” [There are] people I look up to. You find people in life that are like you. This [always asks] the question “Why are you better [than your fans]?” I’m literally the same which is why it’s so cool and I thank them too. For the same reasons they like me, I’m sure I’d like them. It’s common ground. I’m placed on this pedestal and it looks like “Wow, it's so incredible that you can be [treated] that way”. But “Well, not really because this is so weird, trust me”. There’s really no difference.
Kidzworld: We hear that you had to shoot the two Breaking Dawn films completely out of sequence so Bella could be pregnant in the morning, a blushing bride in the afternoon and delivering her baby at night. How did you handle that?
- Kristen: Oh, shooting two movies at the same time, completely out of sequence. It wasn't something that initially we were concerned about but it really was everywhere within each day. [Bella] is always either like looking into the future and thinking about what she's going to achieve, and ultimately, in this movie she does get everything she wants, or she's sort of feeling bad about things like Jacob, for instance and her family.
- She's very much in her own head. Basically, what I'm saying is being able to play a vampire, a human, a woman who is pregnant, a woman who is about to get married within the same day made everything felt more important and more relevant to me. Everything felt very close. It just was overwhelming that it was good. It gives you that energy every day.
Kidzworld: Any comparisons between Bella and your new Snow White character?
- Kristen: The one thing that sticks out in my mind is that they really both are, in different ways, matriarchs, very strong, strong matriarchs that need to find that position. And you see the whole process. But, it's so different. They are both icons but I didn't grow up on fairy tales and I also didn't grow up with the Twilight thing. I’ll think “Wow. This is important” and everyone goes “That's important!' And it's like, “okay, cool”. And so, I've gotten really lucky on that level. I know Snow White, obviously more so than Twilight, was expected to be more important to people probably because they know it.
Kidzworld: You have been able to step out of the Twilight saga for other films. Did you seek out very different films and what are you looking for now?
- Kristen: The movies that I've done between the Twilight films, I've just been really lucky. They've been very different. Not because I meant them to be. The things I was drawn to happened to be different from the Twilight thing. This is the first time in a long time that I haven't worked or haven't known what I was going to be doing [next after Snow White]. I don't want to rush it because I want to have time off and like figure out what I'm interested in. I do want a little bit of time to really figure out what I really, really want to do.
Kidzworld: Music is an important part of these movies. What’s on your ipod now?
- Kristen: This is actually hilarious. Um, I'm doing Snow White and the Huntsman right now. It's really weird being here to be honest 'cause I'm so very, very much involved in that right now. But music? Adele's new album, I have choreographed like whole marches with my army behind me --so I'm listening to that a lot. it's really good for the story. It's almost like oddly good for it, like too good for it. It hit the nail right on the head. Amazing, she's incredible. Right now, I kind of only listen to things for that movie and my regulars that everybody knows about.
Kidzworld: Playing Bella so long, does she have qualities that you have taken on?
- Krieten: Not really. I'm pretty wrapped up in her and vice versa. I’ve always felt like you really project yourself on to that character. If you're the type of girl to identify with Bella, then you just kind of are her. I genuinely had to justify every decision she made the whole way through. Sometimes your characters in films do things you wouldn't do. You're not playing yourself all the time. But, for her, somehow I could not disagree with her ever. And, I didn't. I think we’re pretty similar at times.
By Lynn Barker
