6 Things We Love About The Beguiled’s Kirsten Dunst
In honor of her 35th birthday, a look at a few of the things that make this actress truly bewitching
Watching Kirsten Dunst’s mesmerizing performance in Sofia Coppola’s upcoming thriller The Beguiled is like catching up with an old friend. Having seen her grow up on screen from being a radiant child actor to a sophisticated adult, it’s impossible not to admire how she brings a lifetime of experience to every role she plays.
Dunst, who turns 35 on April 30, brought an amazing energy to Focus’ Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in 2002. And in this summer’s The Beguiled, which Dunst describes as a “pressure cooker of a movie,” she brings a new level of maturity and depth to her character, Edwina Dabney.
Official trailer for The Beguiled
1) She’s been a pro since she was three.
Even when Dunst was a baby, it was clear that she was destinted to be an actress. "Every time we’d go to the grocery store everyone would come up [my mother] and say, 'Your daughter is so animated…you should put her in commercials,” she tells the Telegraph.
By age three, Dunst was doing just that, having signed on with both Ford Models and Elite Model Management. She caught the eye of Woody Allen, who cast her in his short film Oedipus Wrecks (one part of the New York Stories trilogy) when she was six.
2) She thought kissing Brad Pitt was "gross."
At age 11, Dunst was cast to play Claudia, the little girl who never ages, in Neil Jordan’s Interview with a Vampire. For the role, she was asked to kiss her eternal companion Louis, played by Brad Pitt. Lucky girl? Not so, according to Dunst. She told reporters during the film’s release, "It was gross, [and] that Brad had cooties."
Of course, her kissing resume has expanded since then. She won MTV’s 2003 Best Kiss Movie Award for her lip-lock with an upside-down Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man. Fans can look forward to her next onscreen embrace with Colin Farrell in The Beguiled.
Kirsten Dunst and Colin Farrell in The Beguiled
3) She embodies the poetic spirit of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Dunst plays Mary Svevo, the woman who plays around with Stan (Mark Ruffalo) but is in love with Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. To seduce him, she recites the immortal lines from Alexander Pope's "Eloisa to Abelard" to show her depth of culture. The only problem is she calls the poet Pope Alexander.
Kirsten Dunst recites poetry to Tom Wilkinson in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4) She borrowed her prom gown from Sofia Coppola.
Since starring in Sofia Coppola’s 1999 debut feature The Virgin Suicides, Dunst has maintained a close relationship with the director. In 2000, Dunst was looking for something to wear to her high school prom. "I actually borrowed a dress from Sofia Coppola—a beautiful John Galliano burgundy dress that she had worn to the Golden Globes," Dunst tells W magazine. "I was a very lucky girl."
5) At age 35, she's in a Calvin Klein underwear ad.
When her pal and frequent co-conspirator, Sofia Coppola, asked Dunst to particpate in a new campaign she was directing for the iconic fashion brand, Dunst could not say no. The results, as you can see in the video below, are stunning.
Kirsten Dunst shares her "first kiss" with Sofia Coppola in this Calvin Klein underwear ad
6) Her next role will be behind the camera.
Having worked with some of the best directors in the business––including Michel Gondry, Sofia Coppola, and Jeff Nichols––Dunst is looking to turn her on-set experience to good use by directing her own feature. Having already helmed two short films––2007’s Welcome and 2010’s Bastard––she is gearing up to bring Sylvia Plath’s beloved novel The Bell Jar to the screen. She even co-wrote the screenplay with Nellie Kim.
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