We're going through a bit of a Kirsten Dunst renaissance this year—the actress is scheduled to appear in two films in 2017, thanks to Sofia Coppola's highly anticipated remake of the Southern Gothic classic The Beguiled and the Rodarte sisters' dramatic Woodshock. For The Beguiled, specifically, Dunst found herself shooting in the South for a few months with Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, and Colin Farrell, as the film tells the sexual-tension-filled story of the events surrounding a wounded Union soldier's (Farrell) arrival at an all-girls boarding school to recuperate. (It's pretty spooky and kind of in the ilk of Big Little Lies.)
Dunst and Coppola recently sat down for an interview with Variety, and the two got pretty candid about Coppola's not-too-subtly requesting that Dunst lose a few pounds for her role as one of the school's teachers. And to that, Dunst promptly said…Nah.
“It’s so much harder when you’re 35 and hate working out,” Dunst explained, adding that she simply couldn't resist those deep-fried rural Louisiania delights—and, frankly, who could? “I’m eating fried chicken and McDonald’s before work,” she continued. "So I’m like, ‘We have no options! I’m sorry I can’t lose weight for this role.’” In the end Coppola was "very understanding" about her star's pushback—she even feels she has a special “big sisterly” relationship with Dunst—and didn't pressure her to change her body anymore. With everything they've been through together (Coppola previously directed Dunst in The Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette), we're glad to see the duo working this one out.
To women in Hollywood, Dunst's situation wouldn't come as a surprise—unfortunately though, not all actresses are able to work with directors who are as considerate as Coppola. British treasure Emma Thompson has recently spoken out about the "evil" pressure younger starlets receive to be thin, while Jennifer Lawrence has opened up about being threatened to be fired from projects if she didn't drop pounds. “Somebody told me I was fat, that I was going to get fired if I didn’t lose a certain amount of weight,” she explained. "They brought in pictures of me where I was basically naked, and told me to use them as motivation for my diet. It was just that.”
Kate Winslet has also been candid about how an old drama teacher of hers mentally prepared her for accepting only "fat-girl parts." (What?!) “So what I always feel in these moments is that any young woman who has ever been put down by a teacher, by a friend, by even a parent, just don’t listen to any of it, because that’s what I did—I kept on going and I overcame my fears and got over my insecurities," she said. Her Academy Award would certainly agree.
Related: Kirsten Dunst Explains Why It's Easier Doing Sex Scenes With a Female Director
