Speaking to Them magazine alongside her “Love Lies Bleeding” co-star Katy O’Brien, Kristen Stewart briefly reflected on making the 2020 holiday romantic comedy “Happiest Season.” Set up at Sony Pictures and released in the U.S. direct to streaming via Hulu, the Clea DuVall-directed film was widely touted as the first lesbian Christmas rom-com produced by a major Hollywood studio.
“The identity was beaten out of my goals there,” Stewart told Them about “Happiest Season.” “I was getting so many studio executive notes about my hair and my clothes. I was like, ‘You did read the script. You did hire me. What are we doing here?’ It was annoying.”
“And it’s fine, because there are ways that you need to shroud things for everyone to digest,” Stewart added. She praised Clea for her patience in handling such situations.
Stewart was making a point that no shrouding was necessary on her new movie, “Love Lies Bleeding.” In “Happiest Season,” the actor starred opposite Mackenzie Davis as one of half of a lesbian couple whose relationship is put to the test during Christmas.
It appears Stewart had some ideas for her “Happiest Season” character that didn’t fly by the studio executives, although she did not get into specifics. She told Them magazine that she views her role in “Happiest Season” as the “hidden vegetables” of a family-friendly movie that’s all about tolerance.
The sexually-charged A24 crime thriller stars Stewart as Lou, the owner of a gym in small-town America whose blossoming relationship with a bodybuilder (O’Brien) is complicated by her family’s criminal ties.
Director Rose Glass shared before the film’s premiere at Sundance that she wanted Lou to be butch and androgynous, which is closer to who Stewart is. Stewart expressed her satisfaction with her role in the film.
“Love Lies Bleeding” is now playing in theaters from A24.
