Although it seems that Kirsten Dunst hit her peak of success with the three Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man films that she starred in alongside Tobey Maguire, it’s easy to forget that she is only twenty-nine years old.
That’s because Dunst has been appearing in films since 1989, in an uncredited role in the Woody Allen segment of the anthology film New York Stories and has since appeared in a string of films that, although not always critically successful or popular at the box office (though some are), have allowed her to work with a number of acclaimed film directors. These include Sofia Coppola (Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette), Peter Bogdanovich (The Cat’s Meow), Cameron Crowe (Elizabethtown), Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and her latest film, Melancholia, directed by Lars von Trier, for which Dunst was awarded the Best Actress Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
It seems Dunst would have a lot of movies to be proud of, and she spoke with Moviefone about her favorites and what she finds satisfying as an actress. Though Dunst speaks highly of many of her films, she does point out two in particular that she feels most proud of, explaining, “I’m proud of so many movies. I’ve always done things that … I was proud of Virgin Suicides. I’m proud of a lot of things in my career. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I was very proud to be in that movie.”
What makes Dunst particularly proud of her movies is the effect they have on the audience. She describes the feeling as, “When you reach an audience of people enjoying films that you do, it’s so satisfying as an actor. Because you want to be part of storytelling — and to affect people is what your job is. And that is the best when it works and people really celebrate the movie and they come up to you and are emotionally moved by it. I mean, that’s your job. So, when that happens, and all of it falls into place, and it’s a good film, it’s great to be a part of that.”
Melancholia is now in limited release and is also available for rental at Amazon and other digital download websites.
