MEDIA > ARTICLES & INTERVIEWS > 2002

FANNING FLAMES
from unknown, by Louis B. Hobson, February 4, 2002
HOLLYWOOD -- She's just seven but Dakota Fanning talks and acts like a seasoned veteran.
Fanning, who stars as Sean Penn's daughter in I Am Sam, has been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for her supporting performance. Last month, the Broadcast Film Critics Association named her best young actor of 2001. "I was always pretending when I was a child, so acting seemed like a natural thing for me to go into," explains the precocious youngster. Fanning was born in Georgia but her family moved to Los Angeles last year when she kept getting cast in TV and film projects. "We came out for six weeks to do a few television shows, but it turned into 10 months, so we've made L.A. our home." Fanning was a guest star on such series as Ally McBeal, CSI, Spin City, Malcolm in the Middle and ER. "ER was one of my favourites. I played a car accident victim who has leukemia. I got to wear a neck brace and nose tubes for the two days I worked." She is full of praise for Penn, who she says taught her how to ad lib. "Sean says it makes a scene feel more natural. He would say a line I wasn't expecting and we'd just keep talking." Fanning says Michelle Pfeiffer was "so sweet and kind. She gave me a party for my birthday (Feb. 23) and another one on Valentine's Day. Both times she decorated my trailer." She also recently worked with Charlize Theron, Kevin Bacon and Courtney Love in the kidnapping thriller 24 Hours. "Courtney Love is really cool and funny. I would like to meet Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz. I think I could play their daughters." Fanning is comfortable acting, including several crying scenes in I Am Sam. "It's easy. I jut think about my goldfish that died after he jumped out of his bowl."

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