Kristen Stewart wanted to go topless in her new movie 'On The Road'.

In the film version of Jack Kerouac's 1957 classic, the 22-year-old actress plays the sexually adventurous first wife of Neal Cassady and appears without a shirt while sitting in a car seat between costars Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund.

She said at a press conference in Cannes on Wednesday (23.05.12) about her portrayal of Marylou, who is based on Luanne Henderson, that is was scary but fulfilling.

Kristen commented: ''I love pushing. I love scaring myself. I've always wanted to get as close to an experience as I could.''

She said her immersion into her role took place during a month-long ''beatnik boot camp'' for the cast in Montreal in 2010.

The 'Snow White and the Huntsman' star said: ''I'm usually self-conscious about running around town with my face hanging out. But I got to live more in those four weeks than I ever usually do in my life.''

The movie directed by Walter Salles, has been eight years in the making and is due in American cinemas in Autumn but Kristen said she was 16 when she first agreed to do the film.

She revealed: ''I was almost the same age Luanne was at the time, but I was a much younger 16, so I'm glad I had a chance to age before we started shooting.''