 The accompanying music video for " Breakaway " was directed by Dave Meyers , which was shot in two days from July 10 to July 11 , 2004 . In the video , the younger version of Clarkson was played by Lindsey Krueger . According to Meyers , working with Clarkson was a pleasant experience because he felt she was good and honest , although he had initial doubts in the beginning . He explained , " I was a little worried , her coming off ' American Idol , ' it inherently feels manufactured and I didn 't know how much of it was true artistry . But when I met her , she really does have a good , solid vibe . It was an honor to bring some of that out of her . " Since the song is autobiographical , Clarkson decided to act out most of the lyrics in the video . Meyers also realized that the song was featured in The Princess Diaries 2 : Royal Engagement and he struggled to find a way to address the film @-@ footage in the music video , saying " Since it 's a movie tie @-@ in , the idea stems from trying to figure out a new way of addressing the film @-@ footage requirement they put on you , so we came up with the idea of her attending the premiere , which is very much something she will do in real life . " 
