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DAKOTA FANNING ON CHARLOTTE'S WEB
from Who Weekly, December 5, 2006
by Louise Talbot
Dakota Fanning is the most powerful woman in Hollywood. You think we're kidding, but check out the facts: The actress has been directed by Steven Spielberg (in last year's War of the Worlds). She's outacted Tom Cruise (in Worlds) and Robert DeNiro (and was given equal billing as the Raging Bull legend in the ads for last year's Hide and Seek). She got Oscar buzz for her very first role, 2001's I Am Sam, opposite Sean Penn. And since that first film, her movies have grossed...wait for it...nearly $675 million in the US alone." . Which is why, at 12 years old, she already makes $US3 million a picture, a figure her agent says keeps rising. And, in perhaps the truest indication of industry clout, she's the only actress in Hollywood who no executive can say is too old. Currently you can see her in Charlotte's Web, this time opposite a bunch of overacting farm animals. After that, Dakota voice the title role of Coraline, based on a Neil Gaiman short children's novel. WHO caught up with the chirpy and polite young star (born Hannah Dakota Fanning) in LA last month.

Charlotte's Web was filmed on a farm at Greendale in Victoria early last year. How long were you here?
Three months. It was wonderful to see the different countryside.

Where did you grow up?
In Conyers, Georgia. I was there until I was about five, and then I did dthis play and someone told my mother that she should go to LA and get me an agent. We went out for about six weeks during pilot season [when TV pilots are shot for the US fall season] and we never left! I got a few commercials and TV shows [ER, Malcolm in the Middle, Spin City], and then I got I Am Sam, my first movie, and it kind of went from there.

What are your memories of I Am Sam?
I had so much fun working with Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer. I was so blessed to be able to learn from them on my first film. I just watched them and tried to absorb as much as I could. They taught me so much just by acting, not even saying anything.

You then went on to star opposite Denzel Washington (Man on Fire), Mike Myers (The Cat in the Hat), and Tom Cruise (War of the Worlds). What's it like starring opposite the biggest names in Hollywood?
Kind of surreal! It's so much fun to get to do what I do with the people who do it so well.

Who do you look up to in Hollywood?
I look up to and would love to work with Jodie Foster. Holly Hunter I love too; she's from my hometown in Georgia.

Do you have a secret crush on anyone in Hollywood?
When I was 7 I won an award and I couldn't reach the podium so Orlando Bloom, who presented the award, lifted me up. I will always have a bit of a crush on him because of that. He's really cute!

You've been described as one of the most actively employed child actors in the business. Do you ever feel like you've missed out on your childhood?
It's all positive for me. I do what I love to do and I try to be the best I can and never take anything for granted. I hope people like the movies I make and that's all I can ask for.

Who do you hang out with—people in the business, school mates?
I'm home schooled; I go to my teacher's house. I have best friends who I always do things with. My friend James and I, we always coordinate our Halloween costumes. Last year we were Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. This year he was the prince and I was Snow White.

Do you feel as if you've missed out by being home schooled?
I was only in school when I was younger, in the first grade. so I don't think about missing out on anything. Some people like soccer, some people like eating in the cafeteria, I like acting. That's what I like to do so I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

How does your family control your money? The Olsen twins, for example, were given a strict allowance.
I don't have an allowance. I never have. I don't know anything about money; I don't pay attention to it. I just do the acting. [An attorney handles Dakota's earnings rather than her parents, who shun all photo opportunities, lest they shift the spotlight from their daughter.]

Did you get to meet the other voices in Charlotte's Web, like Julia Roberts or Oprah Winfrey or John Cleese?
I've met some of them—I was on Oprah's show and I met Julia at something else. But they weren't on the set. They did their voices seperately.

What was the best part of the film for you?
Working with the animals. And the sets were gorgeous! They had this huge corn field. It ws like you were really in 1952—it was so beautiful.

What's your everyday life like in LA? Do you hang with your younger sister Elle (who is 8)?
Oh, definitely. She's my best friend. She's my little sister and she also acts [8-year-old Elle plays Dakota's character's granddaughter in Charlotte's Web and will next be seen in Babel with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett].

Have you been to the Oscars?
Not yet, but I would love to go one day. It's everybody's dream.

Do you have a stylist for red carpet events?
No, no stylist. My mom and I pick things out, and my grandmother and sister help as well. We lay things out on the bed.

Do you have a favorite TV show?
America's Top Model—the Tyra Banks show.

What do you want for Christmas?
Every year I have said that I wanted a dog and last year I finally got one. She's a schnoodle—white with blond highlights. I don't want anything else—that's the best present ever!

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