Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Dakota Fanning Shares Set Stories in Honor of First Anniversary

Today marks one year since Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood hit theaters. Upon its release, the movie was met with positive reactions and even went on to be nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning Best Supporting Actor (Brad Pitt) and Best Production Design (Nancy Haigh). In honor of the movie’s anniversary, one actor recently spoke with Collider about her experience. Dakota Fanning, who plays Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme in the movie, reflected on her three weeks of shooting, saying it was a dream to work with Tarantino and it reminded her of why she loved being an actor. She also revealed what the movie’s set was like…

“I was there for almost three weeks to do my part because [Tarantino] has that luxury of time to really put in to each vignette that makes up his films,” Fanning explained. “It just reminded me of why I love being an actor and why this is what I want to do, and that there’s no better adrenalin rush than being on a set with a director that you admire and a cinematographer that you admire and an actor that you admire, and just every piece of the puzzle is so extraordinary and so larger than life.”

She continued, “Quentin, his sort of childlike love, just genuine love of film and television just comes through in any conversation that I think anyone could ever have with him and it just rubs off on everybody on the set, and so it really was a moment of just remembering why this is what I’ve chosen to do with my life and that I do love it.”

“It was very luxurious to be able to film that sequence in order. So the first thing that I filmed was literally the shot of me appearing behind the screen door and the sun rising over my face, and that was kind of my first thing. So that was good because I didn’t have to say any lines yet. [Laughs] You know, it was kind of more of a physicality thing, the camera was kind of far away. I was like, ‘Okay, we’re easing our way into this close-up shot of my eyes. We’re easing me into it a bit.’”

She added of her costume, “It was interesting though because I did feel like the red hair and the brown contact lenses and the sort of freckled make-up and the dirt and everything was almost like a shield. I didn’t feel like myself; I really did feel like another character. And she is such a wild-eyed could do or say anything character that I felt empowered by that.”

Fanning continued, “Quentin really makes it very special and very intimate. He’s right there behind the camera and he’s worked with so many of the same people over and over again, which I also think is something that I’ve noticed that most of the greats do; they keep their crew very close and they’re all very loyal to one another and I think that’s really beautiful and seeing that camaraderie up close was really incredible and it made for a very safe environment.”

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is currently available to rent or buy.