BEVERLY HILLS, California — Dating all the way back to names like Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Fatty Arbuckle, Shirley Temple and the Little Rascals, it seems like young overnight Hollywood sensations have been around for as long as Edward Cullen has been a vampire. Some have navigated the choppy waters of fame and gone on to great careers (Jodie Foster, Johnny Depp), while others (Jan-Michael Vincent, Lindsay Lohan) haven't been so lucky.
In the past year, names like Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner have been splashed across supermarket tabloids, "hot" lists and paparazzi-stalking itineraries. But when we recently caught up with Stewart to discuss the stars' upcoming return in "New Moon," she insisted that A-level fame isn't really as bad as it's sometimes made out to be.
"Literally, I get to do every single day what I [want to do with my life]," Stewart explained. "If I wasn't doing this, I would be searching to find another venue in which I could express myself."
Over the past year, the media has often utilized Stewart's indie-minded attitude, sense of humor and celebrated stubbornness to craft stories about how she hates "Twilight,"fame, or pretty much anything else that might sell a magazine or get a click. But she was quick to point out to us that she is very thankful for all she has.
"The fact that I get to do this on such a large scale?" asked the 19-year-old actress, flashing a rare grin. "I'm the luckiest person in the world."
According to Stewart, all the "Twilight" actors are handling their newfound fame well — and if there's a Todd Bridges in this bunch, we aren't seeing it yet. As she's been quick to say in recent interviews, the only thing currently bothering Stewart about all the insanity is that she can't go for a normal walk without being mobbed.
"I want to do nothing," she said of her current dream. "I literally just want to go outside and go for a walk. I want to be able to wake up in the morning and not know what I'm going to do, and feel out the day. But the way I like to do that is to just get up, and go outside. And I can't really do that."
That said, however, Stewart insisted that the good far outweighs the bad. "I literally don't have anything besides the walk thing [to complain about]," she laughed. "I should stop saying that. Because I do get to take walks — it's just not the same kind as I used to. And it's also like, I think this is the most intense that it's going to get.
"After this," she added, "It's only going to put me in a better position to do what I love after this saga is complete."
And when all is said and done, the veteran of more than 20 films including "Panic Room" and "The Messengers" is hoping to have a long career playing many roles beyond Bella Swan. "And so," she insisted, "it's all good."
Check out everything we've got on "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."
For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.
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