'The men were getting paid more': Kirsten Dunst reflects on Spider-Man salary and reveals was asked to lose weight for her latest movie role

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 15:34 EST, 16 May 2017 | Updated: 16:11 EST, 16 May 2017

Kirsten Dunst opens up about being paid less than her Spider-Man co-stars and being asked to lose weight for a movie role in a revealing new cover story.

The actress was 20 when the first film in the superhero franchise starring Tobey Maguire premiered in 2002. 

'Because I was young, I thought, "Oh wow, I’m getting paid a lot of money for the Spider-Man movies." But definitely the men were getting paid more,' she told Variety.

Kirsten Dunst and her The Beguiled director Sofia Coppola cover Variety's Cannes edition

Kirsten Dunst and her The Beguiled director Sofia Coppola cover Variety's Cannes edition

Other male stars in Dunst's Spider-Man trilogy, which came to an end in 2007, included James Franco, Joe Manganiello and Willem Dafoe. 

Spider-Man has been re-booted twice by Sony starting with 2012's version with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, which spawned a sequel.

Now, a new cast will appear in Spider-Man: Homecoming will debut on July 7 of this year, but Kirsten says she won't be watching. 

Super role: She was 20 when she starred in Spider-Man with Tobey McGuire

Super role: She was 20 when she starred in Spider-Man with Tobey McGuire

'I don’t care. Listen, I’d rather be in the first ones than the new ones,' she told the trade magazine.

But she adds of her own string of Spider-Man films, 'I wish we could have made a fourth.'

Her interview and cover for Variety are with Sofia Coppola, who directs Dunst, 35, in their female-centric remake of Southern Gothic thriller The Beguiled. 

Weight battle: Dunst says that her The Beguiled director asked her to lose weight for her role as a boarding school teacher during the Civil War, but was understanding when she said no

Weight battle: Dunst says that her The Beguiled director asked her to lose weight for her role as a boarding school teacher during the Civil War, but was understanding when she said no

Kirsten plays a teacher at an all-girls boarding school who takes injured soldier Colin Farrell in to fix his wounds during the Civil War in the 1800's. 

During the filming Coppola suggested Dunst lose weight, but she said no, and used the film's Louisiana set location as a reason, saying, 'I’m eating fried chicken and McDonald’s before work. So I’m like, 'We have no options! I’m sorry I can’t lose weight for this role.''

'It’s so much harder when you’re 35 and hate working out,' she added, but says her director was understanding and even credits her as an early source of confidence.   

Set straight: Dunst claims that the studio fixed her teeth on the movie art for Spider-Man (L), she is seen in 2001, a year before the first film's release (R)
Set straight: Dunst claims that the studio fixed her teeth on the movie art for Spider-Man (L), she is seen in 2001, a year before the first film's release (R)

Set straight: Dunst claims that the studio fixed her teeth on the movie art for Spider-Man (L), she is seen in 2001, a year before the first film's release (R)

When they first met when Sofia was 27 and directed 16-year-old Kirsten in The Virgin Suicides.

'She said, "I love your teeth; don’t ever fix your teeth,'' Dunst says. 

'I remember doing a Spider-Man movie later, and one of the producers was like, "I need to take you to the dentist!" They even fixed my teeth on the poster. But I just knew I was never doing that.'

Comments 67

Share what you think

  View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

  View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.