Dakota Fanning: Child star turns ‘Cherry Bomb'

As Currie, Fanning almost leaves her child-actor self in the shadows as she tackles teen angst and adult themes: rock ‘n' roll, drugs and sexual experimentation with both genders. Her co-star is a compelling Kristen Stewart, who with convincing determination transforms into a young Joan Jett. (Fanning and Stewart will appear on-screen again this June with the release of "Eclipse," the third of the "Twilight" trilogy.)

We recently chatted with Fanning, now 16, about portraying Currie, the life of a teen starlet and what she hopes fans will remember when seeing her in a decidedly mature new role.

Q. What attracted you to The Runaways and this role?

A. I’ve always wanted to play a real person that is still living. It’s something I've wanted to do for a very long time. I loved the story and I don’t think a lot of people know Cherie’s story and I was excited to bring that to life. Also, with what I could do as an actor, I thought would be a challenge and so much fun.

Q. What was it like working with Currie?

A. What more could you ask for than having the person who went through all of it right in front of you whenever you wanted? It was really amazing. She’s become such a great friend. And like I said, I don’t think a lot of people know her story and I was really excited that it got to be told and she got to have that moment again. I was in awe of her every day. She’s such a strong, strong person.

Q. Cherie Currie had a deep, forceful voice at a very young age. Were you nervous to sing in the movie?

A. I was really excited and kind of nervous about the singing. I knew I really wanted to do it myself because I really wanted it to be authentic. Her songs and her voice are iconic and important to so many, and they're so well-known, so you wanted to get them right... The music is so good. The songs are so great and they’re like a part of who I am now.

Q. When you are considering a role, how do you balance honoring your fans and also yourself in terms of what you want to accomplish as an actor?

A. It can be difficult, just because I started doing this when I was 6. A lot of people view me in a certain way because they feel they watched me grow up. I completely understand that and I respect that, but at the same time, this is what I want to do forever. And I’m getting older and there are things I can do now that I couldn’t do before and I’m looking forward to that challenge. I think a true fan, or a true supporter of mine, would want to see me have those opportunities and I hope that people enjoy the roles that I do. And ultimately I do what I do to move someone else or inspire someone else, and if I can do that, I’ve done what I want to do.

Q. And how did working with Kristen Stewart, who plays Joan Jett, enhance the film?

A. It was unbelievable. She’s become one of my best friends and I think Joan and Cherie’s relationship is one, if not the most, important thing in the film. I couldn’t imagine going through this journey without her. It really was amazing and she was the perfect person to play Joan. It couldn’t have worked out better.

Q. What seems more fun? Being a rock star or a starlet?

A. Being an actress to me is now kind of normal. It’s what I’ve done for so long and what I like to do. Being a rock star seems kind of scary. Kristen and I said that when you’re an actor you get to hide behind the role in a way. It’s not “you” you’re putting out there in the films. When you’re a rock star, you are putting yourself out there every night in your performances and that can be a scary thing. I could never sing as myself, but if I can hide behind a character, I can do it.

Q. Are you able to choose a role you've most enjoyed?

A. It’s hard to say just because I’ve done different roles at different ages. “I Am Sam” was great for me at 6 years old, but it’s so different than something I did at 10 or "The Runaways" at 15. I feel like at every point I’ve been able to do a really challenging role that my age allowed me to do. It’s hard to say which one means the most just because when you are growing up you change so much every day.

Q. Like The Runaways' career, yours has taken you around the world, but they were teenagers with little supervision. Did you think about the similarities in your careers and what it would be like to have no real guidance?

A. They really had no supervision. They were kind of on their own and figuring it all out for themselves and they were all each other had. I’ve grown up in kind of a similar situation with a career at a young age, but of course I’ve grown up with having to go to school and only working this many hours and having my mom there, so it’s a completely different journey. I was kind of fascinated that I’ll never really be able to have that journey, so to see what it was like during the film was really interesting.

Q. In the movie, Joan really looks after Cherie. How much of that do you think is true to real life?

A. They were absolutely best friends. They definitely watched out for each other. Cherie was a lot more vulnerable at the time because she really was a 15-year-old valley girl plucked out of the valley. All of this wasn’t expected, whereas for Joan, this is what she wanted to do her whole life. Cherie wasn’t quite ready for the lifestyle and the fame. I think that Joan really helped her last as long as she did, and eventually she couldn’t handle it anymore and made that decision to leave.

Movie preview

“The Runaways”

Starring Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Scout Taylor-Compton. Directed by Floria Sigismondi.

Rated R for language, drug use and sexual content — all involving teens. At metro theaters. 1 hour, 45 minutes.