16.03.10-Robert Pattinson is 'Bold and Different'

Kristen Stewart has millions of fans waiting for her return as Bella in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse on June 30.

Meanwhile, she's been busy in a string of smaller films including The Runaways. Stewart co-stars as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning gets the role of lead singer Cherie Currie in the real-life story of the all-girl band that made music history. Parade.com's Jeanne Wolf discovered why Stewart worked so hard to sing and play the guitar and why, after the third time around, it's not getting easier to play Bella.

Filling the shoes of a rock icon.
"I think my generation doesn't really know what The Runaways was. I didn't, even though I was aware of Joan Jett. She's a legend, so it was a big deal not only to meet her, but to have her on the set. The main thing that Joan talked about was just how much she cared about that period of her life because it jump-started her entire career. The Runaways was one of the first all-girl bands, so it's an incredibly triumphant, feminist story. Joan became my friend and I was thinking about all she stood for and going, 'Oh God, now I have to do her justice.'"

Not doing a Milli Vanilli.
"I was really concerned about getting the music right because The Runaways have a very distinctive sound. It's not just singing, it's trying to sound like them. I wasn't lip-synching. I worked hard to get like that growl that Joan does when she's performing. I'm not saying that I did it perfectly, but I gave it my best. And I learned to play the guitar because I didn't want to fake it."

Meeting Dakota Fanning again in the Twilight zone.
"We really bonded on The Runaways. I'm really looking forward to the three days that she's probably going to be filming Breaking Dawn. It's weird to see her in the Twilight setting because it's usually the same cast of people. But, suddenly, there was Dakota. The first time I saw her in her wardrobe as Jane, on Eclipse, which was not too far after we finished The Runaways, it was bizarre as all hell."

Her review of Robert Pattinson in Remember Me.
"I think he's bold and different. It wasn't an easy character to play. I thought he was really good in it."

Those diehard Twilight fans.
"I've never been so fanatical about something. I never had that thing that I'm obsessed with. But, I've followed things for years like bands and movies and actors. I completely get what they're feeling. Personally, it's just so cool for me to be able to go back and follow a character for so long in successive movies. The fact that fans love them helps give me the chance."

As for playing a string of disaffected teens.
"It's hard to generalize about the characters that I've played because they all have their separate issues. I don't know what types of characters, especially if they're young girls, who wouldn't be considered disaffected. I think to play a completely mindless happy person would be mindless and happy, but boring. I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I'm just playing parts that speak to me. The only thing I would never do is a big explosion movie. I couldn't handle it. I would totally break down."

Playing Bella remains a challenge.
"You have to live something when you film it. I know from the outside Twilight looks a big commercial movie. But, it was more difficult to play Bella than a lot of other parts I've done. And, she's still developing because I'm not finished yet. It's more of an exploration of a person's journey."

Her escape after the first Twilight.
"I did my own road trip back from Portland where we were filming. I bought like a little truck and drove home to L.A. It wasn't like the most transformative experience, but it was fun. It gave me a sense of freedom and going away from something that was a rather intense experience."

Still not ready to be directed by her mom.
"She's a really well-known script supervisor and she's co-written this drama K-11, which she'll direct and I would be in. If she called me right now and said, 'We're making the movie,' I would be really excited. I guess my question is, 'How would it be to work with a parent?' We're really close and then, at the same time, we're creatively very different. But, I think it would be cool if it happens."

Credit => Parade