The actors reconnected to talk about their first film together, as well as their latest acclaimed projects.
Kirsten Dunst is looking back at her time on the set of the 2006 historical drama Marie Antoinette, and recalling just how "nervous" she was as a young actress in such a free-spirited and sometimes risqué project.
Dunst recently reconnected with her Marie Antoinette co-star and on-screen love interest, Jamie Dornan, as part of Variety's Actors on Actors chat series, and the pair reflected on their experiences on the set.
After Dornan admitted that that he felt a bit intimidated by the film -- considering it was his first-ever acting gig -- Dunst revealed, "I was nervous too."
"All our stuff was like making out, and I’m not comfortable with that," shared Dunst, who was 22 while filming the Sofia Coppola-directed drama. "It’s never comfortable, ever."
"I think my first time I even showed my breasts was with Sofia. She never used the take, and I don’t even think you were there," Dunst recalled, adding, "I felt overwhelmed too."
Dornan said he was surprised to learn that she felt that way, as she "handled it well" at the time.
"I thought you were in control of everything," Dornan shared.
Currently, both actors are starring in highly acclaimed dramas, and are getting some awards season buzz about the films and their performances. Dunst stars opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in the Western drama The Power of the Dog, while Dornan stars in Belfast, which is set during The Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1969.
However, looking back at their time on the set of Marie Antoinette, Dornan remembered how the pair never met before filming their first scene together, and were only introduced while in character during production.
"I remember we had to improvise, and Sofia did this thing of how we didn’t really meet until we met in the scene," he said. Dunst recalled how that sort of introduction can be "sometimes a little bit more awkward."
For Dornan, acting hadn't really been on his radar before Marie Antoinette, while Dunst had been acting and nailing leading roles since she was a child. Meanwhile, Dornan was playing music in a band and getting work as a model.
"I was a bit like, 'This is a cool opportunity. I’ll do that,'" the actor said of getting the chance to make his film debut at age 22. "I wasn’t one of those kids who was like, 'I want to be an actor when I grow up.' I was just following what my gut was telling me to do."
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