Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons have a very special method to their success while working together — and it starts by keeping their distance.
“Because we fell in love on a set, we fell in love creatively first,” Dunst, 41, said during a Tuesday, March 5, interview with Marie Claire. “I think we’ll always come back to that, in a very not-involving-our-real-life way. And also, listen, we don’t talk to each other on set. I left him alone, he left me alone.”
Dunst and Plemons, 35, met in 2015 when they starred in the second season of Fargo. In 2021, they reunited for the Netflix drama, The Power of the Dog. The couple will team up once again for their upcoming film Civil War, which hits theaters on April 12.
While giving each other space has clearly worked on set, Dunst clarified that it’s not a reflection of their personal relationship.
“I love working with him,” she said, adding that “what’s nice is that we trust each other so much.”
She continued, “He sent me a scene last night of this miniseries he’s working on to get my opinion. If I’m having a hard time deciding on something, I’ll have him read it.,I trust his opinion more than anyone, and he cares about me more than anyone.”
Dunst and Plemons began dating in 2016 and were engaged less than a year later. They welcomed their first son, Ellis, in 2018. Son James arrived in 2021. The couple tied the knot in 2022.
While the duo both received Oscar nominations for their supporting roles as a married couple in The Power of the Dog, their dynamics in Civil War will be much different. The movie is set in the future and follows a team of journalists who travel across the United States during the second Civil War between the American government and the separatist “Western Forces” led by Texas and California. Dunst stars as a reporter named Lee, while Plemons appears in a small role as an unnamed soldier, taking up the role after the original actor dropped out.
“[Our director] Alex [Garland] is very lucky that I’m married to… the best actor,” Dunst quipped.
Just as she is her husband’s biggest fan, Plemons has often gushed over his wife’s talents as well.
“Somehow, I’ve had the ridiculous good fortune of getting to work with you as an actor and getting to witness how unbelievably good you are at what you do,” he said during her 2019 Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.
In November 2021, Dunst recalled how she knew Plemons was the perfect man for her.
“I didn’t remember saying this, but one of my best friends told me that I said to her that ‘I will know this man for the rest of my life. I just know it,’” she told the Los Angeles Times.
