Kristen Stewart Takes on an Emotional New Role

We've seen her as the shy Bella Swan in Twilight and a fierce fighter in Snow White and the Huntsman, but Kristen Stewart's latest role seriously shows off just how versatile the 24-year-old actress (and March 2009 cover girl) is. In the new Peter Sattler directed indie flick Camp X-Ray, Stewart plays a young soldier named Pvt. Amy Cole, who serves at Guantanamo Bay in the hope of doing something important with her life. Although relationships between detainees and guards are strictly prohibited, she strikes up a friendship with an empathetic, intelligent accused terrorist, played by Peyman Moaadi. The film questions ideas of freedom, guilt, and humanity in a thoughtful and procative way.

Though this certainly isn't Stewart's first independent film, it definitely differs from previous Hollywood blockbuster roles she's had—and to get into the mindset of Amy Cole, she went all out, even writing poetry from her character's perspective. Though she's been writing poetry (or "BS" as she calls it) since middle school, this is the first time Stewart has expressly used poetry to assist with her acting. "Pointedly for this, I did write a couple things that were so spot on that I just had to share them with Pete, and it helped and felt good to share them," she says. "But other than that, I definitely have [poetry] as a serious outlet, so if something seriously affects me, then it finds its way into stuff that I write." And hopefully we'll be able to get a glimpse at just what goes on in the actresses's head—she says that she would like to eventually publish a book of her writing.

Though the movie is heavy in its subject matter and themes, Stewart sees it as something that everyone can relate to. "I love the movie because it's so reflective of somebody that I could have gone to high school with, somebody that just wants to take away the thought and just do the right thing," she says. "That's not so cut and dry." Either way, despite the unique scenario that the film places the her in, Pvt. Amy Cole is just a girl trying her best in a world where moral ambiguity runs rampant. But thanks to her dedication to the character and exploration of poetry, Kristen Stewart has got her all figured out, inner turmoil included.

Camp X-Ray comes to theaters on October 17th. Watch the trailer below.