Kirsten Dunst felt she was hired because male directors ‘want to sleep with’ her | Hollywood

Kirsten Dunst has quite a revealing reason for gravitating towards women filmmakers through her career. The actor, who last delivered an Oscar-nominated performance in Jane Campion’s 2021 Western The Power of the Dog, revealed in an interview to Marie Claire, why she prefers working with female filmmakers over their male counterparts. (Also Read: Kirsten Dunst’s Spider-Man loving son has ‘no clue’ she was MJ)

Kirsten on working with male directors

Kirsten explained how her looks as a young blonde actor back in the day could give male filmmakers the impression that she was someone they could sleep with, if she showed interest in working with them. Collaborating with women filmmakers like Jane Campion and Sofia Coppola has allowed her to maintain a safe distance from male filmmakers.

“I saw the power in women very young. I think that’s helped with…not needing male attention in my career. I think that’s probably why I migrated to so many female directors at a younger age, because I didn’t want to feel that way,” Kirsten said.

Kirsten on not working for two years

The actor also revealed why she hadn’t worked for two years before she signed Alex Garland’s upcoming dystopian action film Civil War, where she plays the lead role. She said that every role she was being offered after The Power of the Dog was of a “sad mom.” “To be honest, that’s been hard for me…because I need to feed myself. The hardest thing is being a mom and…not feeling like, I have nothing for myself. That’s every mother — not just me. There’s definitely less good roles for women my age,” she said.

Kirsten’s new movie Civil War will make its debut in Indian theatres on April 12. The film, dubbed as an “adrenaline-fuelled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America”, is written and directed by Alex Garland, best known for critically-acclaimed sci-fi hits Ex Machina and Annihilation.

The film’s story takes place in a near-future where the US finds itself embroiled in a rapidly escalating second Civil War, pitting the oppressive government against the separatist ‘Western Forces,’ led by Texas and California. The plot revolves around a courageous team of journalists who embark on a perilous journey across the war-torn nation.

Kirsten plays the role of a photojournalist whose lens serves as a window into the brutal realities of a society torn asunder by conflict. As chaos reigns and allegiances shift, the journalists must navigate treacherous terrain, relying on their instincts and resilience to uncover the truth amidst the turmoil, according to the official description.