HAVING CONQUERED THE BOX OFFICE AND THE TABLOIDS, KRISTEN STEWART RETURNS TO THE SMALL SCREEN IN WALTER SALLES’S BEWITCHIG ADAPTATION OF ON THE ROAD. AS IT TURNS OUT, THE EPIC TALE OF LOVE, WANDERLUST, AND SOUL-SEARCHING DOVETAILS PERFECTLY WITH THE ACTRESS’S POST-TWILIGHT STATE OF MIND

Kristen Stewart is nothing short of gracious. Upon walking into this interview a few minutes behind schedule, she proffers a hug and an offer to “stay until you get everything you need.” There are no publicists, handlers, ringleaders, or beefcake bodyguards hanging around, and she is dressed in 7 for All Mankind jeans and Converse kicks. For the world’s highest-earning actress—last year she dethroned Sarah Jessica Parker and Angelina Jolie at the top of the Forbes list, to the tune of $34.5 million—the lack of pretense is really quite remarkable…not that this is her favorite part of the job. “I really love people,” she says as she hops into a chair and folds her tiny frame like origami. “You can’t not as an actor. It’s just strange meeting someone and going, Okay, you start at square one and I will try and make up for what you already think you know about me.”

The 10,000-pound gorilla in the room is of course that people—present company included—think they know a lot: how much she earns, whom she dates, and even more intimate details. Since her Twilight reign began, digging into Stewart’s personal life has become a bit of a blood sport. (To wit, a gossip rag recently splashed a photo of her with presumed boyfriend Robert Pattinson and announced that she’s pregnant. She’s not.) The Star Wars-esque emotional force field that she instinctually activates for self-preservation is palpable. In this instance, her armor is enhanced by pulled-back hair, glasses, and an oversize bomber jacket that serves as a kind of cocoon. There’s a slightly feral air to her presence—she’s jumpy and prone to pacing—but all the anxiety is kind of endearing. She’s young and excitable, and having weathered the highs and lows of 2012, she claims to feel stronger than ever before.

“I have realized that you can close yourself off to life if you put walls up, but it’s a difficult thing,” she says. “You can’t see over, people can’t see in, and you also can’t see out. So I’ve gotten quite comfortable with just being unafraid. I keep saying the same thing: it’s not about being fearless but really just embracing the fears and using them.” Read more…