Kristen Stewart's performance as Diana Spencer in Spencer has received much acclaim - but it actually isn't her best real-life role. Throughout the 2022 awards season, the actress racked up nominations and accolades for her role in the Pablo Larraín-directed historical fiction/psychological drama Spencer, set over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day at the Queen's Sandringham Estate in 1991. However, there is another real-life person Stewart has portrayed that could be better than Diana.
In 2010, Kristen Stewart starred as Joan Jett in The Runaways, a biopic directed by Floria Sigismondi that chronicles the history of the titular Runaways, a 1970s all-girl rock band. The script was adapted from Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway, the memoir of former frontwoman Cherie Currie (played by Dakota Fanning, who was a Twilight villain, the Volturi vampire Jane). Sigismondi explained in an interview (via CinemaBlend) that she was inspired to cast Kristen Stewart after being captivated by her performance in 2007's Into the Wild. "Her eyes, you know, just told a lot [...] teenagers really don’t sit there and express their feelings and talk. [...] I really wanted someone who’d emote visually without talking that much and she’s got that kind of quality." The Runaways garnered mostly positive reviews, with Stewart and Fanning's performances getting praise.
Kristen Stewart's real-life role as Joan Jett is great because of how she embodies the rock star. While Spencer's Diana isn't entirely accurate, Joan Jett has commented on how spot-on Stewart's portrayal is in The Runaways: "I think she's a really real person. [...] She knows The Runaways have fans, she knows I have fans, and she was concerned about being authentic." (via Cinema Blend) To transform into Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart cut her hair into Jett's iconic shag cut and dyed it black. She also took vocal lessons, so she could do her own singing, and learned how to play guitar. In Floria Sigismondi's CinemaBlend interview, she mentions how she witnessed Stewart adopt the physicality of Joan Jett, even down to the way she stood. As an executive producer on The Runaways, Joan Jett was often on set, so that probably helped Kristen Stewart since she was able to observe the person she was playing, which would help her feel more comfortable in the role and thus play it more authentically.
Another reason why Kristen Stewart's Joan Jett role is so good is that it allows the Twilight actress to be a badass heroine. Granted, Stewart's portrayal of Diana is this in its own way - especially when she finally decides to break away from Charles and the royal family - but Stewart in The Runaways truly gets to shine. Kristen Stewart manages to channel not only Joan Jett's passion for music, but also her absolute fearlessness when it comes to starting her own band and breaking into the male-dominated industry of rock music. Joan has her vulnerabilities, especially when it comes to her intimate relationship with Cherie, but she's mainly a strong-willed person who won't let anything get in the way of her dreams - which many may consider a distance from the roles Stewart is often cast to play, such as Bella Swan.
Kristen Stewart has rightly received praise for her portrayal of Princess Diana in Spencer, a secret horror movie disguised as solely a biopic. However, The Runaways is also a great example of Stewart playing a real-life role. Kristen Stewart truly brought Joan Jett's persona to life on screen and perfectly embodied the role of the iconic teen musician. Though she didn't win any awards or get any nominations for playing Joan Jett, her role in The Runaways is still something to be appreciated.