Interview: U.S. actress Dakota Fanning says Brimstone role her "new adventure"

At the ongoing 2016 Venice Film Festival, American actress Dakota Fanning spoke to Xinhua here about her character in the film Brimstone by Martin Koolhoven, currently premiering at the festival.

Fanning said it was a very strong and powerful role, quite different from anything she had ever done before.

"The whole film was a totally new adventure for me and I had ever seen a film project like that, therefore I was happy to be part of this challenging, in many ways, but fulfilling, movie," Fanning said.

For Fanning, the screenplay was very layered and fully developed on the page, like a puzzle with a lot of pieces fitting perfectly together.

Fanning, an "enfant prodige" of U.S. cinema, worked in movies like Man On Fire, War of the Worlds, and I am Sam where she was applauded together with Sean Penn and Michele Pfeiffer. In Koolhoven's western film, Fanning plays the role of a tough and brave woman who doesn't accepts the rules of the period.

Despite the violent theme of the movie, Fanning said she really wanted to be truthful about what was happening during that period and how women were treated. "For me, when I'm on set, I enjoy pushing boundaries and to show what's real," she confessed.

About the preparation for her arduous role, Fanning explained she just wanted to stay true to the script. "Martin is a very direct and clear director so I never felt lost or confused because he was always there to provide whatever answers I needed," she said.

Asked about the difficulties on set, the American actress said: "Just from physical standpoint, when we were shooting in Germany it was extremely hot, while in Austria and Hungary it was brutally cold and rainy then I was wearing corsets and paddy coats and driving horses in muddy hills."

Another challenge was that during wintertime with few hours of daylight the shooting time was limited while the film was very demanding, intense and detailed, according to Fanning.

"I think we all pushed ourselves to the limits and this is what I loved because I don't like easy things," she said.

"I just do projects that make me feel growing as an actor and project did that for me, then I make my decisions reading the script and watching the materials, then you have to connect with the director or the writer," Fanning underlined.

A possible next step in the career of the American actress could be direction, she disclosed, "I would like to direct and I learned a lot from Martin who is probably the most direct director I ever worked with; he made me want to direct too," she said. Endit