Kirsten Dunst Regrets 'Never' Saying Anything When She Was Called 'Girly-Girl' on “Spider-Man” Set
The former child actress recalled a time in Hollywood when "you didn't say anything; you just took it"
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Kirsten DunstKirsten Dunst is reflecting on not standing up for herself more on the set of Spider-Man.
The Oscar-nominated actress, now 41, played Mary Jane Watson opposite Tobey Maguire in three Spider-Man movies from 2002 to 2007, each directed by Sam Raimi.
In an interview with Marie Claire, Dunst said she no longer feels "nervous" on movies — "I feel at home sharing everything on set now" — but recalled not speaking up for herself on the Spider-Man set.
"It was a joke, but on Spider-Man, they would call me 'girly-girl' sometimes on the walkie-talkie. 'We need girly-girl.' But I never said anything. ... Like, don't call me that!"
The former child star explained that in the industry, prior to the #MeToo Movement, "You didn't say anything. You just took it."
Related: Elle Fanning Says She's 'Always Looked Up' to Fellow Former Child Actor Kirsten Dunst (Exclusive)
Dunst said when she was younger, she once told her manager at the time, "I feel like I get hired because I'm someone that they might want to sleep with."
"I think that's probably why I migrated to so many female directors at a younger age, because I didn't want to feel that way" said Dunst.
Dunst, who stars in the new political thriller Civil War, told Marie Claire she opted not to "capitalize off the Spider-Man thing" to become a "movie-star-movie-star."
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Kirsten DunstRelated: See the 'Spider-Man' Casts Side-by-Side with the Other Actors Who Played Their Characters
"That's great for some people. It's not the artist that I want to be," she said, adding of her selective process for roles, "It was just growing up, and migrating to things that spoke to me. I always just navigated with my heart."
Dunst did say she would do another big-budget superhero project: "Yes, because you get paid a lot of money and I have two children and I support my mother."
Civil War is in theaters April 26.
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