Actress also reveals insecurities with film’s dialogue and what inspired her

By Matthew B. Zeidman

HOLLYWOOD, CA (RushPRnews) 11/22/08 – “It’s hard to say these lines that are so fundamentally expressive [in] the simplest form,” “Twilight” actress Kristen Stewart told Hollywood Today. “‘I would die for you.’ Imagine saying that to someone. Imagine reading those lines.”

Stewart may send fans of the Stephenie Meyer book series into a frenzy when she cuddles with Robert Pattinson onscreen or realizes in a hushed tone that his character is among the undead, but the 18-year-old often needed convincing her character was believable while making the film adaptation that hit theaters early this morning.

“You read it in a book through a girl’s personal perspective and it works, because that’s how she experienced it. But to see it in real life—physically walking and talking, moving around—it doesn’t work,” Stewart explained. “But I was entirely wrong. I was too self-conscious. [Director] Catherine [Hardwicke] helped me there.”

Also a great help was her chemistry with Pattinson, 22, who portrayed Edward Cullen, a young-looking vampire enamored with high schooler Bella Swan, played by Stewart.

“It started in the audition process. He was the only guy who came in and looked like he was thinking about something other than how to pose statuesque,” she revealed. “I could feel a lot of pain from him—very afraid—and that’s what Edward should be. He’s sort of the weaker counterpart in the relationship. He’s not the surefooted one; she is.”

As for Stewart’s own inspiration, the Los Angeles native told Hollywood Today that rather than try and get into the heads of the fans, she followed their lead, injecting a bit of herself into Bella’s shoes.

“I felt such a responsibility to the story and for the character separate from what anybody else felt about it that that drove me to do what I did. I would have been playing an entirely disjointed character if I took into consideration everybody’s thoughts about her.”

“You project yourself onto her, every girl who reads it,” she continued. “You experience it through her. It’s not like they want to be Bella. They are Bella while you’re reading the book. You are Bella.”

Stewart, who admitted she was not an aficionado of the series, became so attached to Bella that she found it difficult to divorce herself from the persona after filming ended.

“I don’t have that sort of schizophrenic Daniel Day-Lewis type [of acting method]. He really feels like he becomes these people for a little while. I feel like I’m a spokesperson. Only I know this person well enough to portray it,” she explained.

“Then, at the end of the film, when I’m done, even though we’ve done the whole movie and I’ve hopefully—sometimes you don’t feel this way, but hopefully—if you feel like you’ve done that character justice, you just like them. There are aspects of them…you miss them, almost like a buddy.”

Stewart, who starred in four films this year, including “Twilight,” already has two more features on her plate for 2009. Dramedy “Adventureland,” which takes place in 1987, is scheduled for release in March, while indie flick “Welcome to the Rileys” with James Gandolfini of “The Sopranos” is currently filming.