Dakota Fanning wanted to witness a ‘wild’ life
The 16-year-old actress portrays Cherie Currie in the movie about the 70s girl band The Runaways, with Kristen Stewart playing Joan Jett. Despite her young age, Dakota has appeared in a string of hit films, such as Charlotte’s Web and Twilight movie New Moon, and the star knows many people still view her as a child.
Part of the reason she wanted to be involved with The Runaways was because she is fascinated by that kind of edgy lifestyle, as it’s so far removed from what she knows.
“I am getting older and I wanted to do something I hadn’t done before. There are girls in the real world who are the same age as me and have already lived a very full life. Some come through it without a scratch - others get into a mess,” she explained to British newspaper The Daily Mail. “I wanted to stand on the sidelines and see, from the perspective of my well-regulated life, what they go through, without getting hurt.
“For me, it’s acting. It’s the movies. I was comfortable because I can handle all that. For a lot of other girls who haven’t been so lucky, it’s a different story - it’s real and too many can’t handle the way their life turns out.”
Dakota sings in the movie, which she found hard. She isn’t confident in her vocal abilities, although Cherie insists she has nothing to worry about. The rocker admits being initially unsure Dakota was the right choice to play her as “she looked too young to be convincing” but soon changed her mind.
Cherie was blown away when she saw Dakota in costume on set, and was thrilled with how good Dakota’s impersonation of her was.
“Like every young girl, I used to go into the bathroom and sing into the hairbrush,” Dakota said. “I wasn’t any good at singing, but I did a fair job at pretending, so maybe that is what Cherie liked.”