Kirsten Dunst has grown up on-screen. From her big break as precocious baby vampire Claudia in 1994’s Interview with the Vampire, in which she stole scenes from no less than Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, she’s been an emblem of her era of popular culture — and shaped it, too. Her portrayals of languid Lux Lisbon in Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides and “cheer-tator” Torrance Shipman in 2000’s Bring It On are indelible portrayals of the inner lives of teenage girls. As Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man, she helped usher in our obsession with superheroes. And where would millennial pink be without Marie Antoinette? 

In fact, perhaps she’s been such a Hollywood staple that the industry simply forgot to formally acknowledge her talent — until now. Dunst’s performance as Rose Gordon in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog has earned her multiple award nominations, including a nod for best supporting actress at the upcoming 94th Academy Awards. And if you take a trip through selections from her filmography currently available on Netflix, you’ll find it’s the kind of recognition that’s been long overdue. 

The Power of the Dog

When Dunst was in her early 20s, Jane Campion sent her a letter, saying she admired Dunst’s performance in The Virgin Suicides and hoped the two could work together. Nearly two decades later, that wish finally came true. In The Power of the Dog, Dunst plays Rose Gordon, a single mom whose life with new husband George Burbank (Dunst’s real-life partner Jesse Plemons) is marred by the terrorizing presence of her brother-in-law Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch). Her striking performance, blending fragility, fear and a quiet strength, earned Dunst her first Oscar nod.

The Power of the Dog

2h 8m   R   2021

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The Beguiled

For Sofia Coppola’s third collaboration with Dunst, the filmmaker purposefully cast her muse in an unusual role. “It’s so opposite her personality,” Coppola told Variety in 2017. “This character is so oppressed and she’s not at all.” Set in an all-girls boarding school in the Civil War South, The Beguiled follows the bombshell arrival of a wounded soldier (Colin Farrell) whose presence disrupts the routine of both students and teachers. Dunst plays the shy Miss Edwina, the only adult presence left in the school save for its domineering principal, Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman). Still, she seems to be in limbo. Though she’s not much older than some of her students, she’s no longer a child; yet she chafes underneath the responsibilities of adulthood, not to mention her colleague’s constant critical scrutiny. There are certainly echoes of The Power of the Dog’s Rose Gordon in Edwina, as Dunst takes her character from a stifled spinster to a woman willing to do anything for her freedom.

The Beguiled

1h 33m   R   2017

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Woodshock

Woodshock

1h 40m   R   2017

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Jumanji

Judy Shepherd (Dunst) is not in the mood to play games. After all, her parents just died in a skiing accident, and she’s forced to move into an abandoned mansion with her aunt Nora (Bebe Neuwirth) and brother Peter (Bradley Pierce). But her life is upended after Peter rolls the dice from an old and mystical board game and accidentally unleashes an entire jungle into their living room, starting with the home’s former resident, Alan Parrish (Robin Williams). But as the Shepherds find out, there are way scarier things hiding in Jumanji than a grown man in a loincloth. The Joe Johnston–directed movie was Dunst’s first foray into action, presaging her role in Spider-Man. 

Jumanji

1h 44m   PG   1995

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Little Women

Little Women

1h 58m   PG   1994

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Interview with the Vampire

Interview with the Vampire

2h 2m   R   1994

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