New LA Times Interview With Kristen Stewart

For once, Kristen Stewart seemed at ease.




The 20-year-old “Twilight” star was enjoying a rare moment of anonymity at one of her favorite restaurants, a rustic hideaway shrouded by a canopy of ferns, perched alongside a twisty road in Topanga Canyon. Notices for a local farmers market, a childbirth preparation class and a 70th birthday celebration for John Lennon decorated the haunt’s bulletin board.



A few honeybees circled the veggie burger on her plate as she chatted about playing a teenage runaway-turned-stripper in her latest film, “Welcome to the Rileys,” a drama coming to theaters Friday. She wasn’t running her hands through her hair, or incessantly shaking her leg, or stuttering as she tried to express herself — all of the characteristic nervous tics she’s often displayed in public since the first “Twilight” film rocketed her into a frightening orbit of celebrity two years ago.



Then, suddenly, her face fell. A stranger was timidly inching over to her table.



“Could I take a picture for my girlfriend in Thailand?” the man, who appeared to be in his 30s, asked. “She’s a great-looking girl. I just recently got into your movies with her. Is that cool?”



Stewart paused, her left leg slowly beginning to bounce. “Yeah,” she sighed. “Yeah, sure.” She posed for a photo with the interloper.



Oblivious to her agitation, he lingered. “What’s your name again? Kristen, right? Want me to show you my girl?” he asked, beginning to flip through images on his digital camera. “Just for her to know that I picked up breakfast at your restaurant. You know, we’re the type of people that don’t get out much.”



Finally, he retreated. Stewart pulled the hood of her black sweatshirt over her head.



“It’s strange when you become a novelty,” she said, slouching down into her seat. “It’s sort of like, ‘Yeah, sure. Go put this on your Facebook so your friends can laugh at it.’ Because that’s what they will do. And I usually say no to people like that, when they’re like, ‘Yo, yo, can I get a picture of you?’ And it’s like, ‘No, … you,’ ” she said, interjecting an obscenity. “That’s what I’m thinking.”