Kristen Stewart Was "Scared" Filming 'Spencer' 's First Scenes

In just a few weeks, we'll know whether or not Kristen Stewart's portrayal of the People's Princess will earn her an Academy Award. Leading up to the big night, Stewart has spoken about ghosts, about feeling for Prince William and Prince Harry, and now, she's opening up about feeling "scared shitless" during the first day of shooting. During an appearance on SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show, Stewart said that, sometimes, it was harder to capture the subtle nuances of playing Princess Diana than doing traditional actor things, like dialogue.

"There was this one scene that I literally thought I was watching a ghost of Diana when you're in the café and you're avoiding eye contact with people. And obviously, everybody knows who she is and [are] surprised that she's there. She walks into this cafe and your head is bowed; you're smiling slightly," Cagle said. "And I thought at that moment, like, I can't imagine a better representation of this person because that, we had seen her do exactly that so much. And yet it doesn't feel like, again, it doesn't feel like an impression."

She appreciated the insight, saying that the specific scene was one of the scariest days on set.

"I'm so happy to hear you say that because being the first time that she speaks in the movie had a hugely pressurized feeling, more so than some of the other dialogue-heavy scenes that we did, which at that point in the shoot we'd already done. It wasn't like that was the first thing that we shot. But because it's the first time you see her or it's actually not, it's the first time you hear her speak," she said. "Oh man. I just like really wanted to get that right. And yeah, you have to sort of just suspend all over-analytical kind of like blow-the-big-moment thoughts because, luckily, it's not a stage play. Where you can always go again. We have multiple takes. We have a lot of film to burn."

Speaking on the difference between doing an impression of Princess Diana and doing her own take on someone so famous, Stewart said that she just had to let go and have everything happen as naturally as possible.

"I think that when you do impressions of your friends, without thinking, like if someone said, "Oh, hey, what did your friend say the other day?" And you just answer, it kind of just happens. You don't even have to be somebody who does impressions. You don't have to be like a member of SNL to be somebody who can just go like, "Yeah, I can sound just exactly like my best friend." You just have to spend so much time. You just listen, listen, listen, listen," she explained. "And love someone, as cheesy as that sounds. And it happens. But yeah, no, I was scared shitless on that day. I hated that day. I was like, 'God, this is like the moment that everyone's gonna go yay or nay.' You know what I mean? It's like a moment people will just go, 'I believe it. Or I don't believe it.' And yeah, but that's the deal. That's what you sign up for.'"