SAN DIEGO – Kristen Stewart was flabbergasted when she first read the description of “vampire Bella” in Stephenie Meyer’s “Breaking Dawn.”
“There’s this thing in the book – the first time you hear [Bella] speak [as a vampire] it sounds like ‘wind chimes,'” said the actress, who chatted with us at Comic-Con about the upcoming “Twilight” finale. “And…I went up to Stephanie, [and] I was like, ‘dude, how am I gonna sound like wind chimes?'”
With Meyer managing to allay the actress’ fears on that particular point (“don’t worry about it,” she reportedly told her), Stewart was able to focus her energies on how exactly she would approach this new, very different version of Bella Swan. Luckily, she was able to draw inspiration from her own experiences as a performer.
“It helps that I’ve grown as well with [the role], do you know what I mean?” said Stewart. “I feel a little bit more…I feel a little bit more placed, like very sturdily placed. And I think that’s what she needs to get to, is she very much owns all of her decisions, and I feel the same way. So I think to play [that] was interesting because…physically, yes, I had to be very steady, and be thoughtful and decisive. And I’ve never really played a character like that, do you know what I mean? I’ve never really thought about things like that, so it was fun.”
Luckily, this “new role” (call it “Bella 2.0”) didn’t require a complete transformation from Stewart, but rather a heightened version of her earlier performances as “human Bella.”
“Technically speaking, she’s the best vampire because she’s got like super-self-control,” said Stewart. “And I’ve always thought that she was gonna…I mean, even before I read ‘Breaking Dawn,’ it was like, ‘wow, she’s gonna be the best vampire!’ Cause it’s all of the good qualities that you have amplified. And I don’t know, I think to see her kind of break herself in like a new car, like to see how fast she can go…it’s super satisfying.”
For more from Stewart, including how “Breaking Dawn – Part 2” is stylistically different fro “Part 1,” watch the full interview above!
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” hits theaters on November 16.