MEDIA > ARTICLES & INTERVIEWS > 2002

DAKOTA INTERVIEW
from Entertainment Tonight, Dec 2001
Young performer DAKOTA FANNING is sugar and spice and everything nice in 'I am Sam,' the story of a tough attorney (MICHELLE PFEIFFER)who fights for the rights of a mentally-challenged parent, played by SEAN PENN. This young, adorable starlet sits with ET's JANN CARL to talk about how she attained stardom at the ripe old age of seven!
JANN CARL: When did you know that you wanted to act?
DAKOTA FANNING: I have always wanted to act ever since I was a little girl. I would put a blanket under my shirt and pretend that I was pregnant. Then, I would go through childbirth.
JANN: Wow, the screaming and yelling and the whole thing? How old were you when you started doing that?
DAKOTA: Oh, since I was, like, three. My sister [played] the baby.
JANN: And you parents went, "We have to find a way to channel this energy!"
DAKOTA: I got with a playhouse and did a play where you have to study [the part] for a week, then you have to do the play. They said, "You should get her with an agency!" I got with an agency in Georgia, and they said they thought that I should go out to L.A. for six weeks ... we have been here ever since. That was last year, I think.
JANN: What did you think that it would be like to come to Hollywood?
DAKOTA: I knew that it would be really fun! My aunt lives out here, so we stayed with her for a couple of months and then got our apartment. We tried to cram all of the sights into six weeks -- the stars, the Hollywood sign. Now, we'll have 10 months to do it all because I keep getting jobs and we've had to stay.
JANN: What was the first role that you got?
DAKOTA: I got a Tide commercial and that was my first time on a plane -- I had to go to Florida. My first TV show was "ER," and the first feature film I got was 'I Am Sam.'
JANN: What was working on the movie like?
DAKOTA: Well, the cast was so amazing; MICHELLE PFEIFFER, SEAN PENN, DIANNE WIEST, LAURA DERN, everybody! [Director] JESSIE NELSON wrote a beautiful script and [her] co-writer KRISTINE JOHNSON is great! I made friends with her two daughters: MOLLY, who is about to turn seven, and NORA, who is already eight.
JANN: Now how old are you?
DAKOTA: I am seven.
JANN: How tough was this role? There were some pretty powerful scenes for you to handle.
DAKOTA: It was not hard for me at all.
JANN: How about the crying scenes?
DAKOTA: Well, that was pretty easy because I just thought about my goldfish.
JANN: Working with Sean Penn, were you nervous?
DAKOTA: No, not at all.
JANN: In doing this movie, which is about the obstacles that those with mental diabilities face, you also got to interact with the mentally-challenged in real life, right?
DAKOTA: Well, I have an aunt who is mentally-challenged, so I can really relate to Sam's character. I got to meet a lot of people [and] they are just so amazing and so happy.
JANN: If you only had 15 seconds to describe the plot of this movie how would you?
DAKOTA: Well, it has a really great meaning behind it! The lesson that I hope everyone will learn when they see the movie is that it doesn't matter what car you drive and what apartment or house you live in, or even what you look like on the outside.It just matters what your heart looks like. [It's about] your ability to love.

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