Kristen Stewart has revealed the real reason she's stepping away from acting – and it has everything to do with how women are treated in Hollywood.
Ahead of her directorial debut with The Chronology of Water, the 35-year-old actress spoke candidly about her frustrations with the film industry, admitting she feels more respected behind the camera than in front of it.
"Actresses get treated like sh*t, I’ve got to tell you," Kristen said in an interview with The Sunday Times, published on Saturday, January 24 2026. "People think anyone could be an actress, but the first time I sat down to talk about my movie as a director, I thought, 'Wow, this is a different experience – they are talking to me like I'm somebody with a brain.'"
The Twilight star went on to explain that the reverence often afforded to directors – particularly male directors – is part of a wider imbalance in the industry.
"There's this idea that directors have otherworldly abilities, which is not true. It's an idea perpetuated by men," she said. "It's worse for female actors than male ones – they get treated like puppets, but they are not."
Kristen also challenged long-held myths around so-called "Method acting," arguing that the performance style is often used to elevate male actors while diminishing women's work.
"There are no female Method actors because Method acting is an acrobatic performance to make acting seem like a feat that it is not," she said. "I think acting is just playing pretend; you don’t have to do 50 press-ups before a take."
Recalling a recent conversation with a male industry figure, Kristen said she was struck by how defensive the discussion became when gender disparities were raised.
"He said he had never met an actress that wasn't crazy," she revealed. "A couple of years ago a comment like that would have made me turn red in the face… Instead, I just continued and got to the end of my thought. Getting older is great because you can achieve a calm."
Now firmly stepping into the director's chair, Kristen is preparing to release The Chronology of Water, based on American writer Lidia Yuknavitch's 2011 memoir. The film stars Imogen Poots, Michael Epp, Thora Birch and Earl Cave, and explores themes of trauma, bodily autonomy and female expression.
"If I was a man, I wouldn't have made this movie," Kristen said. "We have to deny our physicality every single day. There is so much – like birth – that is painful and also quite beautiful, but we don’t share it because it's uncomfortable and icky."
She added, "We've been pushed out of the canon in terms of expression. I wanted to speak to a world designed to silence women. We have to push people out of the way to get our experience seen – and that p*sses people off."
For Kristen, stepping away from acting isn’t about disappearing – it’s about reclaiming power, authorship and voice in an industry that hasn't always offered her those things.