Kirsten Dunst has revealed the real reason she hasn’t hit our screens in two years, and it’s got a lot to do with Hollywood’s attitudes around motherhood and ageing.
“I haven’t worked in two years [because] every role I was being offered was the sad mum,” the Spider-Man and Bring It On actress told Marie Claire.
“To be honest, that’s been hard for me.”
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She wasn’t just being offered those roles because she’s a mum in real life either (albeit a “tired” one, not a sad one).
Dunst confessed that even at 41, she can already feel the effects of Hollywood ageism on her career through the types of roles she’s offered.
“There’s definitely less good roles for women my age,” she said.
Dunst added that the hardest part of not working these past two years has been feeling like she has nothing to focus on for herself outside of motherhood.
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Dunst added that her struggle isn’t unique to Hollywood mothers.
Millions of women grapple with a loss of identity when their entire lives are boiled down to the title of ‘mum’, either in the workplace, at home, or in social settings.
That’s part of the reason why Dunst, who shares two sons with husband and fellow actor Jesse Plemons, chose to return to acting with a gritty dystopian war flick.
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She plays a wartime photojournalist in the 2024 film Civil War, explaining that she was drawn to the role because it’s nothing like her usual picks.
Her husband Plemons also stars in Civil War, though their characters barely interact – and that’s the way the couple like it, according to Dunst.
“We don’t talk to each other on set. I left him alone, he left me alone,” she confessed.
Dunst and Plemons met on the set of Fargo in 2015 and fell in love behind the scenes.
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They got engaged in 2017 and welcomed their first son a year later, followed by a second in 2021. Dunst and Plemons finally tied the knot in 2022.
That same year, they were both nominated for Oscars for their performances in The Power of the Dog. Talk about a power couple.