Page 83 - S Summer 2024

“I am drawn to people who drum to
their own tune, people that are pushing boundaries constantly or have a very unique perspective of how they want things to be.”
Dunst breaks into a rendition of Ginuwine’s raunchy ’90s R&B anthem, “Pony,” which makes both of us giggle like back in the day.
“My world right now is Volvo soccer mom. I’m like, sweats, school runs, soccer—get in a little glam mode suddenly—and that’s it. I put makeup on for you,” she says. “Volvo soccer mom” is a far cry from Dunst’s well-documented archive of red-carpet fashion moments, many of which were created in collaboration with her close friends, designers Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte. The trio shares a feminine, old-timey aesthetic that was perfectly encapsulated in a blue lace appliqué cocktail dress, which Dunst accessorized with a shawl made of baby’s breath, at the L.A. premiere of Woodshock, a 2017 horror the three made together. “I mean, they’re two of my best friends, so I’ve worn a lot of Rodarte,” she says. Civil War is Dunst’s first movie in three years, which is partly because she’s busy raising the two sons she shares with actor Jesse Plemons, whom she met on the set of Fargo in 2015. (Plemons plays a small but terrifyingly pivotal role in Civil War.) Last fall, Dunst posted a photo of her youngest, James, hiding under a Spider-Man umbrella with the caption, “Has no clue his mom was MJ.” Innocence is relative, it seems.
Dunst says she is also “annoyingly picky” about selecting projects to work on, prioritizing directors over the actual roles she plays. “I am drawn to people who drum to their own tune, people that are pushing boundaries constantly or have a very unique perspective of how they want things to be,” she says. “Just people who are willing to take big swings and have risks in their creative life.” Dunst is big on female directors, which has helped shape her knack for embodying such complex women and girls on screen. In a now-viral clip from a Hollywood Reporter roundtable alongside the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Kerry Washington, and Regina King back in 2016, Dunst suggested that it was the responsibility of her fellow actresses to seek out female directors and give them opportunities. “I stand by what I said,” she tells me. “It is up to you to make that happen, and to believe in someone.”
As for what comes next, Dunst is eager for something different, maybe a comedy, and definitely hopes to team up with her frequent collaborator, Coppola, on something new. “It’s gonna happen,” she says. “I don’t know when, but we want to do something together again.” As Dunst continues to move through the many phases of womanhood alongside her audience, the spectrum of our shared emotions is something we’ll continue to feel together. And she’ll make it into art.
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