Kristen Stewart has spoken candidly about the emotional toll of playing Princess Diana, revealing that the experience stayed with her long after filming Spencer.
The actress, who received widespread acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for her performance, said that stepping into Diana’s world was not something she could simply leave behind when the cameras stopped rolling. According to Stewart, the role carried a kind of lingering emotional weight that felt almost haunting.
While preparing for the film, Stewart immersed herself deeply in Diana’s life, studying her voice, mannerisms, and the intense pressures she faced inside the royal family. That level of immersion, she explained, made it difficult to fully detach from the character afterward. The sense of Diana’s lived experience and emotional struggle stayed with her, even after production wrapped.
Spencer, directed by Pablo Larraín, focused on a brief but pivotal period in Princess Diana’s life as she grappled with her marriage and her place within the monarchy. The film was widely praised for its intimate and psychological portrayal of Diana, and Stewart’s performance was often described as one of the most nuanced portrayals of the princess on screen.
Stewart has often spoken about feeling a deep sense of empathy for Diana while filming. Rather than approaching the role as an imitation, she tried to understand the person behind the public image. That emotional connection, she said, is what made the experience so powerful and, at times, difficult to shake.
Years after the film’s release, Stewart’s comments show just how deeply certain roles can affect actors. For her, portraying Princess Diana was not just another performance. It was an experience that stayed, lingered, and continues to shape how she looks back on that chapter of her career.