‘Spencer’ Director Pablo Larraín Reveals When He Knew Kristen Stewart Was The Right Choice To Play Princess Diana

Kristen Stewart, as great as she is, is an unconventional choice to play Princess Diana. For one thing, she’s not British. Actually, that’s the main thing because as we’ve seen from the images and trailer for Spencer, she looks remarkably like the people’s princess. That’s a pretty big thing, though! But director Pablo Larraín (who guided Natalie Portman towards an Oscar nomination for her riveting performance as Jackie Kennedy in Jackie) knew she was the right choice for Diana once he heard her accent.

“Once she was confident with the accent and all the sort of practical verbal issues, she became a poetic combination of herself and Diana,” he told Indiewire. “I don’t know what most people see in Kristen, but I see someone who was able to find the physicality and style of the great actresses of ‘50s and ‘60s. We felt like we were looking at an old-school type of performance in the best possible way. We just couldn’t stop admiring what she was doing.”

To nail the voice, Stewart worked with Peaky Blinders dialect coach William Connicker. “She was never trying to mimic Diana,” Larraín explained. “That’s where dangerous things start to happen. She created a character who can ride illusions in a very intimate and mysterious way. As an actress, she’s very difficult to read.”

Spencer opens on November 5.