Kirsten Dunst

Interview, Sept, 1998 by Elizabeth Weitzman

The first time we noticed Kirsten Dunst, in Interview With the Vampire (1994), she was a child straining toward womanhood - one tormented by the knowledge that she'd never reach it. As her character's soul aged behind a beautiful doll's face, Dunst somehow tapped into a surreal worldliness, offering a performance of preternatural maturity. Her characters since, however, have possessed an innocence entirely lacking in the teenagers we habitually see onscreen these days: Amy in Little Women (1994), the victim of an evil toy army in the summer hit Small Soldiers, and a boarding school ringleader in the upcoming Strike! If Dunst - now sixteen, and thirteen years into her career - is rebelling in any way, she's keeping remarkably quiet about it. Her favorite word to describe herself, in fact, is "normal." We like her too much to burst her bubble.

ELIZABETH WEITZMAN: Your character in Strike! is completely self-possessed until boys come into the picture. Did you relate to that?

KIRSTEN DUNST: Well, it's always weird around guys at school because they're just starting to notice girls, and they're kind of gross sometimes. Guys can be the biggest jerks.

EW: Do you ever worry about getting parts based on your looks instead of your talent?

KD: Oh, my God, I would hate that. I don't think that's ever happened; my roles never say "beautiful girl" in the script. But I guess it doesn't hurt if you're pretty. In Dick, the film I just did, [costar] Michelle Williams and I had to wear these really skimpy American flag costumes and we were like, They're doing this so guys will come and see the movie. That's a weird feeling.

EW: You came to public attention with an extraordinary performance in Interview With the Vampire. Has it been hard to find roles as good as that one since?

KD: Even then, I knew a part like that had never come along for a ten-year-old: most adult women don't get a chance to work with actors like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in such a demanding role. I think I peaked at an early age.

EW: Being as young as you were at the time, were you aware of the sensuality in your role?

KD: I was protected from stuff like that. I remember once my acting coach said to me, "You know when you take your brother's teddy bear away from him and you get a mischievous look on your face?" So that's what I was really thinking when I had to look flirty. But kissing Brad was so uncomfortable for me. I remember saying in interviews that I thought it was gross, that Brad had cooties. I mean, I was ten.

EW: Do you ever worry that you're not having a typical adolescence?

KD: Yeah. Some people say you grow up faster in Hollywood, but I'm not exposed to parties and drags and drinking because I'm always working. I've missed all the dances at school and I missed spending this summer with my friends, so I've made sacrifices. But acting is what I want to do - it's my passion.