Kirsten Dunst has opened up about the time a male director asked her "an inappropriate question" while she was auditioning for a role.
The 41-year-old Hollywood star began her screen career at age three with a minor role in Woody Allen's 1989 film, Oedipus Wrecks.
Dunst soon rose to fame a couple of years later after starring as a child vampire named Claudia in the horror film, Interview with the Vampire, opposite Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.
The Academy-nominated actress then transitioned to leading roles in teen flicks such as The Virgin Suicides and Bring It On and gained wider attention for her role as Mary Jane Watson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).
In a new interview with The Telegraph, Dunst reflected on what the film industry was like as a young actress and revealed an incident she encountered with a male filmmaker when she was 16.
"A male director had me in his office, by myself, and was asking me about this movie he wanted me for, and then, completely out of the blue, asked me this inappropriate question," she said.
Dunst chose not to elaborate or name the director but shared: "Honestly, I’m not even sure he’s still working anymore. It’s not something I like to reflect on.
"But I will say what he said was nothing to do with acting. And it wasn’t that what he said was just 'a bit off.' It was totally improper. And I remember sitting there and knowing that something was wrong, but with no idea what I should do," she added.
The Jumanji actress credited her mother, Inez Rupprecht, with keeping her safe from the "predatory side of the business," and said she "was only able to avoid" it "because wherever I went, my mother was literally always right there".
After the audition, Dunst told Rupprecht what happened and she withdrew her daughter immediately. "That was the end of it. She withdrew me from the process and told them I wouldn’t be making the film," the actress concluded.
The revelation comes weeks after the Spider-Man star disclosed the sad reason why she hasn't acted since The Power Of The Dog - a psychological drama she co-starred with her husband Jesse Plemons - despite it garnering critical success.
"Every role I was being offered was the sad mom," a frustrated Dunst disclosed to Marie Claire.
"To be honest, that's been hard for me... Because I need to feed myself," she said of her reluctant break from Hollywood. "The hardest thing is being a mom and... not feeling like I have nothing for myself. That's every mother - not just me," adding: "There's definitely less good roles for women my age."
When questioned if she "already" feels the impact of ageism in Hollywood, the Elizabethtown star responded: "Yes. That's why I did Civil War."
Watch the Civil War trailer below:
In Civil War, which is her first movie since her break, Dunst stars as a photojournalist in a near-future dystopia where the United States has been torn apart under the authoritarian rule of a three-term president, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The actress's 35-year-old husband also appears in the A24 film, alongside Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny, and Nick Offerman.
Civil War is set to be released in theaters on April 12.
