Oscar-nominated actress Kirsten Dunst
has spoken out about ageism that she recently faced in Hollywood. The actress will be seen in Alex Garland’s Civil War which is set to hit the theatres on April 12.
Kirsten shared how the actors of her age are only offered a certain kind of role. She further adds that after she did the critically acclaimed 2021 film, The Power of the Dog she has been constantly getting the same types of role that could be put together in just two words “sad mom” type.
The Marie Antoinette (2006) actress has a career spanning over 2 decades, she started out in the industry as a child actor back in 1989 in the anthology film, New York Stories. Over the years, she shared screen with many actors including Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in ‘Interview With The Vampire’ back in 1994. Later on, she also starred in Little Woman (1994) alongside Winona Ryder and Christian Bale. But it wasn’t until 2004 when she was casted as the iconic Marvel character Mary Jane Watson in Sam Raimi’s Spider Man which gained her widespread attention.
The 40-year-old actress said that she decided to take a break from the movies and that’s why she hasn’t been a part of any film since 2021.
“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.” She added, “There’s less good roles for women my age.”
But she was excited to work with Alex Garland as she had never read a script like Civil War. This was also an opportunity for the Spiderman actress to be on a fresh project in which she will be seen as a journalist. Dunst continued by explaining that she always enjoys working with female directors.
She prefers to work with them as over the years working with male directors has always made her feel uncomfortable. Ever since a young age, she felt a special, strong power whenever she was working with a female director. She says,
“I feel like I get hired because I’m someone that [male directors] might want to sleep with, 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.”
Dunst also joked around when she was asked if she is considering doing a superhero film as she hasn’t done it since 2007. She said, “You get paid a lot of money, and I have two children, and I support my mother.”
Civil War (2024).
Civil War is an upcoming film directed by Alex Garland starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny, Jesse Plemons, and Nick Offerman. His popular projects include Annihilation (2018), Men (2022), and Ex Machina (2014).
The story follows a bunch of journalists struggling to survive amid the second American Civil War between the American Government and ‘the Western forces from Texas and California’.
“ There is a misunderstanding here. We are Americans,
Okay, What kind of American are you?”
This is the scene where a soldier tells them that they will not shoot unless they tell them, what kind of American they are.
The film is distributed by A24 which is the same company behind Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), Ex Machina (2014), Moonlight (2016), Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, and many more. The studio is popular for its film choices which are not always that mainstream or conventional.
Evidently, movies like Ex Machina or Midsommer have definitely unlocked a brand new realm of creativity and storylines. And some of the credit for which definitely goes to A24!
