Dakota Fanning said that as a child star, she was asked “super-inappropriate questions” by the media — and she said it felt like people almost wanted her to fail.
Speaking to The Cut, the 30-year-old actress — who has been part of Hollywood since she was 5 years old in movies like “Man on Fire,” “Uptown Girl,” and “I Am Sam” — said that in interviews at a young age, she remembers journalists asking her questions she thought were strange.
“‘How are you avoiding becoming a tabloid girl?’ People would ask super-inappropriate questions. I was in an interview as a child and somebody asked, ‘How could you possibly have any friends?’ It’s like, Huh?” She explained.
“I have a lot of compassion for people who have been made into examples,” Fanning said. “If society and the media hadn’t played their part, who knows? I don’t think that it’s necessarily connected a hundred percent to being in this business; there are other factors, too.”
“I just didn’t fall into it, and I don’t know the exact reasons except that my family is comprised of very nice, kind, protective people,” she added. “I have a mother who taught me how to treat other people and also how to treat myself. And she was there every second. I was always treated with respect.”
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“It was never ‘Bring the kid in! Get her out!’” Fanning continued. “I wasn’t working with people who treated me that way — I was being respected as an actor and as equal as you can be for that age. Looking back on my life, my career is such a present part of it, but I really think about the childhood memories, too. My life doesn’t feel disproportionate with work, and I’m so grateful for that. I’m there doing work that matters.”
The “Twilight Saga: New Moon” star was also asked about the “perverse fetish” people have “for the fallen child actor” and added, “It’s like, ‘Is that what you want to happen to me somehow? Is that what you want to happen to these people?’”
“I’ve definitely felt this kind of vibe from people almost wanting me to fail or something,” Fanning said. “It makes you feel a little bit guarded. I’m just living my life over here. I think also I was just a little too young for it to fully hit me. So that was good.”
“People couldn’t get away with that kind of thing so much anymore. By the time I got to that age, it was sort of being recognized as probably not the best way to treat people,” she added. “I also have some separation. I think that’s maybe something particular to me.”
“The work is the thing that I like,” the Hollywood actress continued. “So the stuff that comes with it, this part of it, it’s not the thing that I like as much. I don’t get dressed to walk down the street. That’s just not me. I am just an actor. And the other things that come with it are things that you kind of deal with.”
Related: Dakota Fanning Reveals Unique Birthday Present She Gets Every Year From Tom Cruise