Kristen Stewart reveals playing Princess Diana in new film Spencer made her 'trip out' with nerves

Kristen Stewart has revealed playing Princess Diana, in an upcoming film about her life, made her so nervous she couldn't talk for two weeks before filming began.

The actress, best known for playing Bella Thorne in the Twilight films, also said that taking on such an iconic character made her 'trip out' with nerves.

The film, Spencer, explores what happens when Princess Diana spends three days with the royal family during Christmas 1991, just months before the late princess and Prince Charles separated. 

The actress explained, during a BBC interview, just how nervous playing Princess Diana made her, "I had TMJ [her jaw stayed shut] to the point where I was like, completely locked up. I was like, 'Huh, I guess I'm really nervous—I was really tripping out until we started."

However, she said it was director Pablo Larrain who put her at ease and she quickly relaxed into the role. The actress, who has also starred in Charlie's Angels, went on to say that her knowledge of the royal family was limited.

"I didn't have the most developed or defined relationship with the Royal Family in general. I didn't grow up following the sort of saga."

However, she went on to say, "Obviously I do live on planet earth, and her impact was so immense and emotional, even for somebody who was seven when she passed away."

When the first trailer was released in January fans were shocked by the star’s likeness to the people’s princess. One fan wrote on Twitter, “That really took me a second, to see that it was Kristen Stewart in the photo and not Diana.” Another fan agreed and wrote, “I knew she would act perfectly but had doubts about looks, but OMG she looks just like Diana.”

While others were even wowed by her British accent. "Kristen Stewart saying, 'they don’t' in the most perfect princess Diana voice is the only thing engraved in my mind now," said one enthusiastic fan.

Another fan added, "Kristen Stewart says two words in that trailer and you already know she's nailed the accent."

The film is due out in November, but there is also already Oscar buzz for Kristen. Film critic and entertainment writer, Scott Menzel said: "I just saw the teaser trailer for #Spencer & a 5-minute clip from the film. Based on the footage, it looks like Kristen Stewart will be getting an Oscar nomination for her performance as Diana. I’m feeling very confident that this is going to be #KristenStewart’s big moment."