Kristen Stewart has totally arrived: she braved her first ever interview with Jay Leno last night, appearing on The Tonight Show to promote the soon-to-be-released "The Runaways". Walking out in a short black minidress and leopard Christian Louboutin heels to the hard guitar strains of music from the movie, the girl made famous by the "Twilight Saga" looked a little bit nervous as she took her seat.
Jay's big, squeaky personality could have overrun Kristen's more reserved interview style, but the star held her own while Jay asked her about her recent trip to England and launched into a story about a confusing attempt to order pancakes at a London restaurant. So, what'd she think of the food across the pond?
"I actually don't mind it," she said, mildly. "It's got a bad rap."
After pointing out to Kristen that she could legally drink in the UK (K-Stew only barely managed to mask the "no duh" look she gave him in response), Jay turned the convo to the next logical topic...
Sausages.
Kristen actually brightened up and said, "Yeah, they tell you the contents of the sausages on really elaborate menus." A pause. "And they're bangers, which I think is kinda of weird too, um, considering the connotation."
So... considering the connotation? Considering the... did Kristen Stewart just make a donger joke on "Leno"?
But let's get down to business: Jay, who seemed slightly oblivious to the fact that his guest had just made a crack about peen on live TV, wanted to talk about the Oscars — particularly, about K-Stew's oh-so-human throat-clearing moment during her presentation at the awards ceremony.
Laughing, She said, "That's one of those things that'll always replay in your head, like, oh, that happened. Why! WHYYYY!"
Jay responded with a little verbal back-patting, offering advice on brushing off criticism, but Kristen seems to be taking the whole thing in stride.
"This will be baffling to a lot of people," she said, "but I was so proud of myself that night!" While the audience burst into applause, she continued, "I was like, whoa! I didn't, like, fall down or anything!"
Sounds like Kristen might have internalized some of Bella Swan's personality traits, but we don't think she had much to worry about; she carries herself in a distinctly adult way, tossing out SAT-length vocabulary words with the same ease that most actresses toss their hair. And when it comes to her ability to hang off-screen, she immediately references Dakota Fanning — her Runaways co-star, who she openly admires and calls one of her best friends.
Kristen's not gifted with Dakota's natural off-camera presence, and she admitted that she has to work hard at being poised: "I can't act when I'm not... acting. So I wear my heart on my sleeve."
So, now that we're talking about "The Runaways," Jay wanted to know: What was it like to hang out with Joan Jett? At first, Kristen offered the usual spiel about having had three weeks to get to know Joan, and how open the iconic musician had been with the actress who had to learn to BE her — but then, for the first time in the interview, she began to look nervous and fidget, picking at her thumb and looking down at her lap. And then:
"She [Joan] told me things I could never say!" she blurted.
Like what? Like WHAT? We're dying over here, but Kristen won't tell, and it's obvious she has great respect for the woman she's playing. She explained, "For Joan ... she becomes my friend, and if I don't get every little thing right I'm gonna kill myself." Things like what?
"We're both riddled with tics, but totally different ones. And there's only so much that script, footage, pictures can show you." Jay responded by holding up a few pictures of the real Runaways, onstage in full 1970s regalia, then proffers a pic of himself from the same era. "Yow!" says Kristen, probably because she doesn't know what else to say.
Alright, enough shenanigans. So, what clip are we gonna see?
Kristen's face turned super-serious as she said, "I'm sort of, like, ripping my hair out about it," prompting Jay to ask why.
Why?
"Because it's a big deal for me."
So for the record: Kristen Stewart is a gifted actress, a great friend, serious about her art, AND she likes to make dirty jokes on live television.
We knew we liked this girl.
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