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I've Always Used My Own Personal Emotions And Things That I've Gone Through In My Life To Build A Character. The Work That I Do Before A Film Feels Almost Like Therapy, Between Me And Whoever I'm Playing.

-Kirsten Dunst

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I've Always Used My

Kirsten Dunst

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I've Always Used My Own Personal Emotions And Things That I've Gone Through In My Life To Build A Character. The Work That I Do Before A Film Feels Almost Like Therapy, Between Me And Whoever I'm Playing.

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I'm Never Going To Say Anything About Who I'm Dating Unless I'm Married Or Engaged.

When You're Little, You're Open To Things. It's Not Like You Get Into This Rehearsed Zone When You're A Child. At First You Play Different Sides Of Yourself. And I Think It Will Be Really Exciting One Day To Have A Character To Go Into That's Not Anything Like Me Whatsoever.

I Feel Very Lucky That I Don't Have To Rely On A Man To Give Me Financial Security. That's A Big Deal.

When I Go Away To Do A Movie, I Bring The Blanket I've Had Since I Was A Little Girl. It Helps Me Sleep. I Also Always Bring My Laptop So I Can E-mail Friends. And I Bring My Dog, Beauty, Wherever I Can.

I Feel Like Everyone Directs Their Own Career According To Their Taste, What They Migrate To Emotionally And What Kind Of Artists They Want To Work With.

As An Actress, There's A Lot Of Waiting. You Wait For A Script To Come In That You Want To Do. You Get To A Point Where You Decide That If You Want Good Things To Be Made, You're Going To Have To Start Making Them Yourself As An Actress. You Can't Just Wait Around For It. But You Can Also Just Enjoy The Breaks, And Use Them To Kind Of Refuel. I've Been Working So Long At This Point That I Don't Mind The Breaks. I Think They Make Me Better, Actually.

On Every Film I Do, Whenever There Are Other Girls My Age, I Think It's Definitely Up To Me To Set The Pace. That's Because I've Had A Lot Of Experience And I Think There's Always A Certain Amount Of Professionalism That Should Be Maintained. If I Was Catty Or Whatever, It Would Just Make The Whole Shoot Unpleasant. And What's The Point Of That?

When I'm An Old Lady, I'm Going To Have My Pick Of The Young Men. They'll Be Like, 'she's Miss Mary Jane!' The Young Boys Will Think I'm A Hot Old Lady.

I Have Gotten So Many Tickets. I Hope I Don't Get My License Revoked.

I Love My Snaggle Fangs. They Give Me Character And Character Is Sexy. People Comment, But The Only Person Who Ever Told Me To Fix Them Was My Mom ... I Just Went My Own Way, Like Daughters Do.

I Can't Wait To Have Kids One Day. I Want To Have Kids And A Farm With Lots Of Animals On A Lake.

It's Always Nice When People Appreciate Your Work Because It Means You've Affected Them, Which Is Great. And So That Feels Good.

I Think You Either Get Along With Lars [von Trier] Or You Really Don't And I Really Got Along With Him. I Wasn't Scared Because I Talked To Bryce Dallas Howard About Lars.

I Don't Live In The Spotlight, And I Don't Live My Life In Front Of The Paparazzi. I Live Very Comfortably And Quietly As Possible.

I Just Don't Want To Be The Damsel In Distress. I'll Scream On The Balcony, But You've Got To Let Me Do A Little Action Here.

I've Been An Rem Fan Since I Was A Little Girl. I Would Jump Around To 'stand' In The Mirror.

What Actor Do You Really Take Seriously Who Becomes A Singer? It's Kind Of Ridiculous. I Can't Think Of Anybody.

I'm Always Looking For That Movie That Feels Like It's Hitting Me Where I Need It.

It's Weird Doing Red Carpets; It's Uncomfortable. But You Can Have A Sense Of Humor About It.

I've Always Had A Process That I Do Before I Even Get To Set Or Go To The Location. I Work Privately, And It Almost Feels Like Therapy Between Me And Who I'm Playing. So I Have This Inner Life That's There And It Gives Me A Confidence, Too, That When I'm Playing The Role I Know Every Question.

When You Spend Your Entire Life As A Child Actress, Being Told Where To Go And Where To Stand, You're Performing Constantly For People. It Definitely Breeds The Kind Of Person Who's Dependent On Other People's Approval.

People Always Tell Me, Don’t Work So Much, But I Can’t Help It. I Feel Like All The Things I’ve Done Are Important To Get To This Adult Stage Now And Now I’m Getting All These Adult Offers, So It’s Working.

I Am Sure I Would Love To Do It Now, But Back Then, I Was, Like, 11 And It Was 'ugh.' There's Nothing Sexual Or Sexy When You're That Age. So I Was Kissing Brad Pitt. So What? He Had Chapped Lips. He Was Lovely And Kind And Sweet To Me, But It Was Just Yuk.

When I Was Little, I Put On Plays For My Family At Sunday Dinner, And I Would Direct Them And Have All My Cousins, My Brother, And My Best Friends In It. I Was A Very Imaginative And Theatrical Child And Wasn't Afraid Of Being In Front Of A Camera. It Was Like Make-believe To Me.

I Don't Gossip About Myself.

When I'm Working, I Always Listen To Music To Zone Everyone Else Out.

Listening To Music

In High School I Had A Boyfriend Who Was Super Into Rap, So I Was Into Too $hort And Wu-tang For A Little While. And My Best Friend's Older Brother Would Sometimes Drive Us Home In This Pimped-out Truck, And He'd Play All His Dirty Rap Music. We Thought We Were Really Cool.

I Think You See In People's Eyes What They've Been Through. Anything In Their Lives Shows Up In Their Eyes.

Madonna Is My Role Model Shes Such A Powerful Woman. I Love Gwenyth Paltrow, Shes An Actress I Aspire To Be Like. And, Of Course, My Mom. She Drove Me From New Jersey To New York Every Day For Commercials So I Could Get Where I Am Today.

After “melancholia” And “on The Road,” I Wanted To Do A Comedy. And I Did So Many Comedies When I Was Younger, But If You’re Not Consistently In Those Movies, People Don’t Always Think Of You For Them.

It's Such A Private Thing - 'my Process' - I Can Just Say That The Work That I Do Is Like Therapy Between Me And The Character.

When You Get Older, You Feel Better About Yourself. You're Not Worried What Other People Think About You, In General. You Just Get More Comfortable In Your Skin.

Every Movie I Do, I Always Use Things That Have Happened In My Life. Funny Moments, Anything. If It Just Sticks Out I'll Write It Down And Use That, Too, Because It Has To Come Out Of You. But No One Can Work When They're Depressed. I Don't Think I'd Physically Be Able To Do It If I Were Depressed.

I Think The Best Thing About My Job Is That I Have My Life Documented, Which Not Many People Get To Have. They Have A Photo Here And There And Maybe Some Video Footage From A Birthday. My Kids Will Be Able To See Me Growing Up.

I Would Love To Play Marlene Dietrich In A Movie. My Dad's From Germany And So I Feel Like That Would Be A Really Interesting Person To Play.

I Built My Entire Career Off Of Teen Comedies. I Was In 'bring It On'.

It's Nice When The Movie Is Not On Your Shoulders, Too. It's Fun To Do A Smaller Part Sometimes.

When I Have Time Off, My Friends And I Will Go To Universal Studios, The Movies, Out To Eat, And Shopping. I'm Happiest When I'm Just Hanging Out With My Friends... It Really Doesn't Matter What We Do.

Universal Studios

Boys Frustrate Me. I Hate All Their Indirect Messages, I Hate Game Playing. Do You Like Me Or Don't You? Just Tell Me So I Can Get Over You.

I'm Not Someone Who Feels Like I Have To Do It The Same Way. I Never Feel Restricted. It All Should Grow Out Of Different Moments And If It Goes Completely Different That's How It Should Go.

I've Always Used My Own Personal Emotions And Things That I've Gone Through In My Life To Build A Character. The Work That I Do Before A Film Feels Almost Like Therapy, Between Me And Whoever I'm Playing.

A Lot Of Moms Give Their Kids Line Reads. My Mom Wasn't Put In That Position Because I Always Had An Acting Teacher Helping With The Feelings Rather Than How To Say Something.

I Would Love To Work With Quentin Tarantino - He's My Number One. My Ultimate. I Would Love To Work With Paul Thomas Anderson, Alexander Payne - Pedro Almodovar Wouldn't Be Too Shabby. There Are So Many Good Directors, But Those Are Some Of My Favorites.

I'm A Good Assistant. That's Why I Don't Have An Assistant, Because I'm So On It That No One Can Be As On It As Me. I Know That.

I Would Have Loved To Have Been In A Hitchcock Movie.

Hitchcock Movie

Being An Actress Doesn't Make You Popular In School.

I Get Along Really Well With Lars [von Trier] But Definitely During Our First Meetings I Was Feeling Him Out And He Definitely Says Some Things That Are Inappropriate And Then You Kind Of Get His Sense Of Humour. I Really Enjoy Him. He's One Of My Favourite People I've Met Now. So, He's Pretty Great.

Confidence Is Very Sexy. You Could Be Not Cute At All And Have Such Confidence.

My Grandmother Lives With My Mother In A Gorgeous House In The San Fernando Valley. I Am Afforded These Luxuries, And I'm Very Young.

Obviously I’m A Feminist. It’s Ridiculous That Anyone Would Think Other Of Me.

I Never Read Comics As A Kid. I Guess I Was Lazy And Watched Cartoons Instead.

I'm Not A Very 'this Is Planned Out' Person When I Get To Set. 'this Is How I'm Going To Do It' - I'm Never Like That.

I Think That Everybody In Life Probably Goes Through Obstacles At Different Times In Life. I Wouldn't Really Call Them Obstacles, I Think That's Just Called Growing Up, And I Think It's Hard To Be In The Industry At Such A Young Age

The Performances That I Love Are Ones Like Gena Rowlands In 'a Woman Under The Influence,' Where Women Are Allowed To Be Messy And Imperfect. It's That Kind Of Woman That Has Always Inspired Me To Seek Roles That Are A Little Out Of The Box. I Just Haven't Always Had The Opportunity To Do Them.

I Really Want To Do A Film In Another Language. My Dad's From Germany, So It'd Be Really Cool To Do A Film In German. I'm Not Quite Fluent, But I Can Get There. And My Accent's Pretty Good. I Wouldn't Feel Too Out Of My Element.

I Try Not To Do Scenes A Certain Way, Because Then I Become Conscious Of It, And It Dosen't Come Off As Realistic. I Try To Make It So That I'm Not Really Aware Of What I'm Doing.

But The Real Secret To Total Gorgeousness Is To Believe In Yourself, Have Self Confindence, And Try To Be Secure In Your Decisions And Thoughts.

Self Confidence

I Don't Find I'm Manic At All. I'm Very Chill.

I Was A Big Guns N' Roses Fan When I Was Seven. My Friend Who Lived Across The Street Had Long Dark Curly Hair And I Had Long Blonde Hair, So I'd Dress Up As Axl And She'd Be Slash, And We'd Rock Out In Front Of The Mirror Singing 'patience.'

Long Blonde Hair

New York Vintage Is Too Expensive!

Doing 'all Good Things' Really Felt Like I Was Acting For Myself Rather Than Anyone Else. It Gave Me A Freedom I'd Never Had Before, Or Knew I Had, To Do Whatever I Want To, And To Argue My Opinions And Not Just Feel Like The Cute Girl On Set Or The Girl In A Boy's Club. I Figured Out How I Could Be Both. And It's Been Different Ever Since.

If You're Successful At A Young Age, No Matter The Profession, There Has To Come A Time When You Reevaluate Everything, What It Means To You. 'is This What I Want To Do For The Rest Of My Life?'

I Think Every Woman Goes Through A Relationship Where She Is With A Guy That Is Really Not Right For Her. You Get Lost In It.

Charlotte Rampling Is Someone I've Wanted To Work With For A Very Long Time. I've Always Looked Up To Her As An Actress And It's A Reason Why I Feel Brave To Do A Film Like Melancholia. So, To Me She's The Ultimate.

I Don't Really Relate To Myself As The Girl In The Magazine. Which Is Dangerous For Me, Too, Sometimes, Because I Don't Think All The Time, 'well, Look To See If People Are Following Me Home.' Sometimes I'm A Little Bit More Free Than Maybe I Should Be.

I Love What I Do And I Dont Want To Stop - This Is All Ive Ever Wanted.

I Feel Like I Could Never Walk Around A Film Half-naked. I Definitely Wouldn't Want To See That.

I Liked The Girly Cartoons. I Was Very Much A Girly-girl.

A Singer Is Someone Who Puts Out An Album. That's A Very Generous Description.

The Real Secret To Total Gorgeousness Is To Believe In Yourself.

In Movies, I Hope Women Aren't Always Portrayed As Sex Symbols. People Like Drew Barrymore Are Paving The Way For Girls My Age. Hopefully I Can Pave The Way For Young Actresses, Too.

I Want To Play An Action Hero. I'm Ready For Roles That Totally Aren't Me.

I Don't Try To Be Sexy, But If You Are Sexy It Comes Out. If You're Not, You're Not.

I'd Like To Grow Up And Be Beautiful. I Know It Doesn't Matter, But It Doesn't Hurt.

I Love To Produce, And I've Directed Two Short Films.

What Are You Going To Do If It's The End Of The World? You Better Go Out Having Fun Instead Of Stressing About It.

I Started When I Was Three Years Old, Doing Commercials And Modeling In New York, I Liked It So Much That I Kept Doing It.

Most People Ask Me Questions Based On A Previous Interview. That's Not An Interview. It's Like They're Just Saying My Quotes Back To Me.

I'm Not Someone Who Feels The Pressure Of Someone Else's Expectations. That's A Very Young Way To Feel.

I Attract A Different Kind Of Boy When My Hair's Red. I Get More Quality Men - Like A More Thoughtful, Nerdy Dude.

I Was Allowed To Have An Imagination Rather Than A Need To Be Entertained All The Time By Television Or Computers Or Anything Like That. So, I Think It's Helpful To Try And Give Your Kids.

I Know Kids Are Supposed To Go Through These Awkward Stages, But I Just Never Even Thought About That. I Was Too Busy Worrying About Getting My Education While I Was Working.

I Feel Like The Feminine Has Been A Little Undervalued. We All Have To Get Our Own Jobs And Make Our Own Money, But Staying At Home, Nurturing, Being The Mother, Cooking — It's A Valuable Thing My Mom Created. And Sometimes, You Need Your Knight In Shining Armor. I'm Sorry. You Need A Man To Be A Man And A Woman To Be A Woman. That's Why Relationships Work.

My Favourite Food At The Moment Is Pasta, “with Tons Of Shaved Parmesan On The Side. Not Crumbly But Like The Hunks, You Know What I Meanwhen You Get The Thin Slices.

I've Never Been A Major Smoker, But I Think America's View On Weed Is Ridiculous. I Mean - Are You Kidding Me? If Everyone Smoked Weed, The World Would Be A Better Place.

I Wanted To Get An Angel Wings Tatooed On My Back, As A Guardian Thing.

So Many Teen Films Are Overproduced And People Are Going To Burnout On The Subject.

I Love My Snaggle Fangs. They Give Me Character And Character Is Sexy.

I Was Always In And Out Of School. What I Learned In High School Is That Female Friendships Are So Much More Important Than Worrying About Having A Boyfriend Or Looking Good Or Things Like That. I Had Such A Good Girlfriend Growing Up That We Didn't Need Anything. We Had Such A Creative World Of Our Own Imagination Together. For Me, If I Have A Child, I Would Say, "i Hope You Find A Best Friend That Makes It So You Don't Really Need Much But Each Other." Learning About That Type Of Friendship And Trust Is One Of The Best Things I Ever Got Out Of School.

You Know That Feeling When You Wake Up In The Morning And You're Excited For The Day? That's One Of My Main Goals In Life.

If Everyone Smoked Weed, The World Would Be A Better Place.

Everybody Smokes! Models, Actresses, Everyone! Don't They Realize That It's Gross? I Understand It's An Addiction, But It Still Pains Me To See My Friends Do It.

I Think That Most Human Beings Go Through Some Sort Of Depression In Their Life. And If They Don't, I Think That's Weird.

A Lot Of People My Age Who Are Working Right Now Have Never Acted; They Get A Show And Suddenly They're Making Millions. It's Always Those People Who Get It Fast Who Have The Most Trouble Staying Grounded And Being Themselves.

I've Seen 'karma' Slap People In The Face. You Have To Be Good To People. It Really Does Come Around.

I Don't Think Roles Help You Resolve Your Issues. I Just Think They're Good Markers.

My Mother Told Me That When I Was Born A Wave Of Feeling Came Over Her. She Just Knew That I Was Destined To Be An Actress.

When You Feel Good Is When You're Not Afraid To Feel The Worst.

And Sometimes, You Need Your Knight In Shining Armour.

Why Would I Cry Over A Boy? I Would Never Waste My Tears On A Boy. Why Waste Your Tears On Someone Who Makes You Cry?

Everybody Has A Mean Streak In Them, Don't They?

The Hardest Job An Actor Can Do Is All This Pretend, All This Screaming And Being Scared For Your Life.

For Me, My Favourite Actresses Are Like Charlotte Rampling Or Gena Rowlands... People Who Have Always Stepped Outside Of The Restraints Of A Certain Type Of Woman Or Story. I Always Like Those Movies The Best.

To Be In Someone's Favorite Film Is Just - That's What You Want. You Want To Be In Great Films That Are Memorable.

I'd Like To Be Taller. I'd Like My Baby Fat To Leave.

I Think That Certain Directors Are Better At Choosing Actors That Match Well With Each Other. And I Have Feelings About Actors And Who I Think I'd Work Well With Better Moreso Than Others.

I Think Vegetarians - For A Lot Of Them - It's About A Lack Of Commitment To Life And Relationships. There Are Some Who Just Like The Fact That They're Controlling Something In Their Life.

I Didn't Go To Cirque Lodge For Alcohol Abuse Or Drug Abuse.

I Can't Imagine Having A Real Personal Thing, Like Divorce And Marriage, All Those Things, Being In The Public Eye. I Try To Not Talk About Anything Personal, And Then Nobody Has The Fire To Throw Back At You, Like 'you Said This Back Then!'

You Really Can't Explain How You Do The Things You Do. I Can't, Anyway. I Love Certain Actors, But Sometimes They Say The Stupidest Things About Technique. I Don't Want To Say Something Stupid.

When I Was Younger, I Always Did Movies That Teenagers Would Watch, Not Adults. I Did 'crazy/beautiful' Or Comedies Like 'bring It On.'

I Don't Want To Be 'box-office Girl,' But I Don't Want To Be 'that Indie Girl' Either.

You Don't Really Know Who You're Going To Fall In Love With At What Time In Their Life. They Can Be The Worst Off They've Ever Been In Their Life, But You Can't Help Who You Fall In Love With. That's Part Of The Excitement Of Life - New People, New Experiences.

Falling In Love

New Experiences

I Would Always Rather Do A Mediocre Script With A Great Filmmaker Than A Great Script With A Mediocre Filmmaker.

I'm The Kind Of Person Who Buys A New Thing, Wears It So Much And Then Is Totally Sick Of It.

I Was A Very Extrovert Kid. It Felt Normal To Me To Act. I Always Went To Regular Schools. I've Never Been Catty Or A Prima Donna, So I Never Had Problems. I Always Had My Seat At The Cafeteria When I Came Back From Acting.

I Really Think The Key To A Film Is The Chemistry Of People.

A Lot Of People My Age, They Grew Up With Me Onscreen. I Think That's Helped Keep A Certain Amount Of Longevity. When You Grow Up With A Person, You Feel Like You Know Them.

I'm Very Mature For My Age, But I'm Also Innocent In A Lot Of Ways.

Rare Are The People Who Can Capture A Human Being.

Everyone Goes Through A Hard Time In Their Life, They Just Don't Have To Do It In Front Of Tons Of People And With Our Media The Way It Is. I Did, And I'm Lucky That I Had The Resources And The Money To Take Care Of Myself. Now I Love Me, So I'm Ok.

I've Always Been Someone Who Is Pretty Hard On Herself. But I've Lightened Up A Lot.

I Like People More Undone Than Made Up. Patricia Arquette Is The Ultimate. She's Not Anorexic Or Perfectly Tan, She's Not Trying To Be Anything But What She Is, And That's The Most Sexy Thing.

It's Hard To Get Lost In A Scene, To Get Into A Character When Everyone's Standing Around You On The Set.

It'd Be Nice To Feel That Claustrophobic Feeling Or The Anxiety That The Film Melancholia Produces, But For Me I Look At It And Think About What I Was Doing That Day, Where We Shot It... It's Kind Of Like A Weird Memory. It's More A Photo Album Of Memories Than Being Able To Feel Connected To Myself. It's Not Easy To Do.

When You Have A Beanpole Body, Everything Looks Cute. Like Alexa Chung. I Like Her Style, But She's Really Tall And Skinny, So Everything Looks Good On Her.

You Can Never Control Who You Fall In Love With, Even When You're In The Most Sad, Confused Time Of Your Life. You Don't Fall In Love With People Because They're Fun. It Just Happens.

I Think For Everyone It's Good To Have Your Own Personal Work On A Character And A Film Before You Even Start Rehearsing, To Have An Inner Life.

Everyone Goes Through A Hard Time In Their Life.

It's Important To Me That I Don't Get Trapped In The Whole Teen Scene, Because I Feel That You Can Get Lost In Those Kind Of Movies, And They Aren't Really About The Actors; They're About The Selling Of The Concept, And How Much Money It Makes.

I Used To Feel Like I Had To Be The Best At What I Did, But I Realized I Don't Have To Be The Best. It's So Freeing. I've Never Been This Happy.

I'm Happiest When I'm Just Hanging Out With My Friends... It Really Doesn't Matter What We Do.

Universal Studios

You Can Never Get Enough Of 'jeopardy.'

You Know How People Say Awards Don't Mean Anything? Hello! I Think The Energy Around Them Makes Everyone Cuckoo.

I Really Just Enjoy Listening To Talk [to John Hurt And Charlotte Rampling]... Not Even About Acting Or Anything. It's Interesting Because I Felt Really Connected To All These People Very Easily. They're All Very Open Emotionally, Like We're In The Scene Together, So You Never Feel Like Anyone's Acting.

If I Saw 'virgin Suicides' Or 'eternal Sunshine,' I'm So Proud To Be In Those Movies. They Are Such Great Movies. I Felt So Free On Those Sets.

I've Never Had A Teenage Rebellion, I'm Not That Type Of Person. I Always Work Out My Problems In A Conscientious Way.

If I'd Trusted Myself And Listened To Myself All The Times That I Ignored Myself, I Would Have Been Fine. But Everyone Has To Learn Their Lesson, And Now I've Got It.

The Filmmaker Is Really Important To Me: It Could Be Their First Film; It's Not Just About Their Reputation, But I Have To Really Believe In Them.

I Just Want To Be A Good Friend To People, That's All.

You Lose Like Five Pounds Immediately, And Your Face Is Glowing And Gorgeous!

I've Been Lucky To Find People Who Want To Work With Me, Whom I Respect And Like, But The Truth Is There Aren't That Many Good Projects Out There. And We Make Way, Way Too Many Movies. So It's Not Always Going To Happen With Every Project. But I Try And Wait It Out.

I Think It's Best To Date Someone Who Doesn't Do What You Do.

I Was A Very Imaginative And Theatrical Child And Wasn't Afraid Of Being In Front Of A Camera.

I'm A Person Who Likes To Hang Out. I Would Never Go On A Blind Date. That Sounds Like The Most Uncomfortable Thing On The Planet Earth. It's Like, 'hi. Nice To Meet You. So, What Kind Of Music Do You Like?' Date Ended.

I Hate Red Carpet Photographs!

The More I See And Know About Life, The More Ideas I Have And The More I Want To Make Art.

When You're In A Depressed State, Having Something Really Bad Happen Gives You Kind Of A Life Again.

My Mom Raise Me So Wonderfully. She Gave Me Self Esteem And Made Me Appreciate My Flaws, As Well As My Strengths.

I Really Wanted The Mtv Award The Most, It Was A Golden Popcorn Container And It Looks Really Neat.

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