Joan Jett Bonds With Kristen Stewart, Plus Other Actors Who've Met Those They've Portrayed

Nov. 27, 2009 — -- See, you knew there had to be an explanation for the haircut. Kristen Stewart has been spending a lot of time with Joan Jett, who she's portraying in the upcoming movie, "The Runaways." Turns out, these two really like each other! Kristen said of the rock icon, "So many people know her as just being like one of the coolest people to ever live. That in itself is one of the most intimidating things that I've ever had to confront, but she's so cool, too." And Joan is very happy with Kristen's portrayal of her. "She sounded great and played well. She has the passion for it, which you can't really be taught," she says. [Socialite Life]

It's already a lot of pressure to portray a real larger-than-life character, without them looking over your shoulder. But here are six other actors who met the character they played, face to face. Click here for more from TheFrisky.com

For her role in "Julie and Julia," Amy Adams didn't meet blogger Julie Powell until after filming. The director thought having meeting the real person would be more confusing than enlightening. This might have contributed to the fact that Julie believes she's meaner and swears more in real life. When she finally met Amy at a press junket, Julie said, "We were both so busy, we were only able to meet for a couple of minutes, but she seems to be a lovely woman." [Daily News] — Wait, that was Amy Adams playing Julie as a nice person? No wonder they didn't want them to meet!

In February, Billie Piper, who plays Belle in "Secret Diary of a Call Girl," had the chance to meet the real-life high-class hooker she portrays, Dr. Brooke Magnanti, who gave up her secret identity last week. There was a "covert operation" to unite the actor with the woman who wrote the memoir that inspired the HBO series. Piper said of the real woman, "She was great. She was very well turned out, very elegant, amazing rack ... and she was really well educated. She has a different profession now and she wants to keep her anonymity." [Contact Music] — So much for anonymity. But it's always nice when women share boob compliments.

When Derek Luke was cast to play Sean "Diddy" Combs in "Notorious," he only had a week to prepare for the role. He worked with Diddy and his mother to understand the character. "I think talking to Ms. Combs, it felt like I was talking to my mom," he said. "She was kind of giving me who he was, the experiences in his life, including the loss of his dad, which made him more human ... I had a couple of conversations with him and I wanted to find out why he was interested in thinking that perhaps I was the best person for the job." [Black Voices Buzz] — That's got to be the most intimidating position to be in—not only portraying, but also working with a notoriously intimidating mogul. Click here for more from TheFrisky.com

Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were hand-picked by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash to portray them in "Walk the Line." But sadly, June died before Reese had a chance to meet her. Joaquin, on the other hand, had dinner with Johnny and June months before the film went into production. "You go into such an intimate setting and yet immediately you're put at ease because John and June just have something so welcoming about their personalities," he said. "So we talked a little bit; we sat down and we had dinner ... I didn't expect him to play a song at all, but as it turns out that's how he felt most comfortable. That's his way of sitting around and bullsh*tting with someone—he'll pick up a guitar and play a song." [MovieWeb] — Oh, to be famous enough to invite Joaquin Phoenix to dinner and have him be the intimidated one.

Natasha Richardson played Patricia Hearst in "Patty Hearst," based on Hearst's autobiography, Every Secret Thing. The two women met for lunch two weeks before filming began and had lovely things to say about each other. Natasha said of Hearst, ''She was a very bright and strong lady. Very witty, not at all the airhead the press made her out to be.'' Patricia saw the movie three times and said of meeting Natasha, ''I thought—who wouldn't want to be played by someone so attractive and intelligent?'' [NY Times] — So, so sad that she is now dead. Click here for more from TheFrisky.com

Before Angelina Jolie was cast as Mariane Pearl in "A Mighty Heart," the two women became close friends. Mariane read an interview with Angelina and thought they could be besties. Since they were both single mothers at the time with 3-year-old boys, they arranged a play-date. Mariane says, "We cooked pasta. And then we started talking about changing the world..." Angelina says, "Her instincts were right—we did have so much in common. And all the kids are great friends now. Zahara is madly in love with [Mariane's son] Adam." Of playing her now close friend, Angelina said, "I was so nervous! I mean, it's like you're in a roomful of your closest friends and somebody says, 'Why don't you get up and imitate the friend to your left?' Nobody would want to do that, ever!" [SocialiteLife] — Who knew that stars have play-dates? It's like pre-puberty match-making for famous children!