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YOUNG GIRL, OLD SOUL
from Associated Press , February 4, 2005
by Colleen Long
NEW YORK -- Dakota Fanning is a slight girl with big blue eyes and a gummy grin, but don't let that fool you. Movie after movie, the 10-year-old actress holds her own against Hollywood heavyweights, stealing scenes right out from under their famous feet.
Dakota and Robert De Niro star in "Hide and Seek," about a little girl with a dangerous imaginary friend. The film is centered on Dakota's character the way "The Sixth Sense" revolved around Haley Joel Osment: Without a solid performance, the frights wouldn't seem believable.
"I just put myself in her position when we're filming," Dakota said in her slight Georgia drawl, speaking by telephone from Los Angeles, where she was filming "War of the Worlds" with Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg. "She's kind of walking the line between the good child and the bad child. She's trying to cope with the losses in her life and all the different things going on are very troubling for her."
It's funny to hear a 10-year-old say she's "always wanted to be an actress," and it's inherently strange asking a kid about her acting methods -- especially when it seems most child actors are coached by their parents. But "Hide and Seek" director John Polson said Dakota walked onto the set with her own notes and ideas about the character of Emily, and that made a difference.
"I wasn't dealing with a parent, I was dealing with an actor," he said. "I never felt like her parents had any unhealthy interest in her work, and that makes it much easier for me as a director."
Dakota's performance in "Hide and Seek" has a sort of old-soul quality to it. Wearing a dark wig and even darker circles under her eyes, she is mesmerizing and commanding one moment, vulnerable and childlike the next.
Some of Dakota's comments make her seem more like 30 than 10. Her favorite movie is "Gone With the Wind," and her role models are Hilary Swank and Meryl Streep, "not just because they're great actresses, but because they are amazing people."
Still, she's kind of afraid of the dark and sleeps with a green teddy bear at night. She collects dolls, likes riding horses and takes ballet.
"I'm just a normal kid, really. I just love to act," she said with a giggle.

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