Quotes from Dakota Fanning

I was being groomed to be a tennis player for sure. My grandparents and parents realised I had a natural athletic ability and if I was forced to do it, I could probably do well. But all I wanted was to play pretend.

One of my favorite things about doing movies is that you get to do different things you'd never do in real life.

I think I really like psychology because my job is all about getting inside another person's mind and thoughts.

I really enjoy what I'm doing. I think you have to have a good time and not look too far back or too far ahead.

I can only live my life in this way. I don't think I would be living it a different way if I wasn't acting.

That was really cool. I got to kiss a little boy. I was 7 and he was 10, and his name is Thomas Curtis. He was the first boy I've ever kissed in my entire life and he was three years older than me.

I always talk about my characters like they're real people.

My mom played tennis for, like, six hours a day and went to college on a tennis scholarship, because that was the way she could go to school. So they instilled in me the idea that you have to work hard for the things you want in life and never complain.

I don't throw my clothes out after one wear. Shocking, I know.

People recognize me all the time. I think it's really nice. I don't mind it at all. It feels kind of surreal when people know who you are and I think that it's really cool.

It's just such an honor to say that I was in something by Steven Spielberg. I feel so blessed I got to meet such great people, and I got to go to a beautiful place, Vancouver, and I had a great time.

The hardest thing is at the end you have to say bye to all these people who you have worked with for so many months. It was really sad not to see them anymore. But you have the parties that you go to and you get to see them, like the premieres and the screenings.

Often, when you're on a movie set, you're miserable. It's cold. You're hungry. You're tired. It's still dark out. And yet, there's no place I'd rather be. It's the happiest I am, and the most calm.

I love who I am and I love my life, but if I could be someone else, I'd be Beyonce in two seconds.

In the happy scenes there were really fun times. Sean would say really funny stuff because he likes to improv. I would want to laugh, but you are not allowed to do that during the take.

I definitely think independent film is very exciting, and you get to sometimes take bigger risks. So that's always a challenge and something that I look forward to.

I feel very lucky to have been able to travel and see different parts of the world.

My advice would be to go with the "love who you are, embrace yourself" vibe that's happening right now.

It's what I love about what I do and the life that I'm able to have and be able to just be so normal one day and be here the next...I feel so lucky to be able to do what I do.

Charlie Sheen gave me a signed headshot. I think it said, 'Keep it real.' But 'real' was spelled 'reel,' like a film reel.

As much as movies are about the words that you're saying, they're also about what's not said, the silent moments.

I was raised by very traditional Southern parents with Southern manners. You don't air your dirty laundry to people that aren't your family or your friends. Why would I ever want to portray myself as anything other than together?

I think you learn something from everybody that you've worked with. I really learned how to behave on set through the people that I worked with, like the importance of being on time and the importance of being professional. I don't bring my cell phone on set; I leave it in my trailer.

I've always wanted to be an actress, ever since I was a little girl. I've always played the mom and I play my sister as the daughter. I wanted to be an actress on television and movies instead of just around the house.