Kirsten Dunst is reflecting on sharing a very challenging scene with her husband, Jesse Plemons, in the upcoming dystopian film Civil War.
In the futuristic movie, California and Texas have seceded and united to form the separatist “Western Forces” in an attempt to overthrow the established government. Dunst, 41, portrays Lee, a renowned photojournalist traveling across the embattled country documenting the war. Plemons, 36, appears as an unnamed soldier.
At one point in the film, Dunst and Plemons have a life or death confrontation as his character points a gun at Lee and her crew, threatening to kill them.
“Even reading the script, it’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen,” Dunst told Entertainment Tonight in an interview published Monday, April 8. “When we rolled up to set, it was just very, very tense and emotional for everybody filming that scene.”
She explained, “That particular scene — just reading it from the script, it’s such a, you know, chilling moment. It’s really the turning point of the whole film.”
Plemons was a late addition to the cast, replacing the original actor who dropped out of the film. His wife proudly recommended him for the role.
“[Our director] Alex [Garland] is very lucky that I’m married to … the best actor,” Dunst quipped during a March interview with Marie Claire.
Dunst and Plemons met on the set of Fargo in 2015 and got engaged two years later, welcoming sons Ennis, 5, and James, 2. They exchanged vows in 2022 and previously worked together in the 2021 film The Power of The Dog, both earning Academy Award nominations for their supporting roles.
The Spider-Man actress told ET that in Civil War, her husband “did a favor for us because that is a really disturbing role to play, so it’s not like he was jumping at the chance to play the role.”
Dunst went on to describe how she and Plemons prepared to bring the “intense” scene to life, noting, “We shot it for two days straight. Wagner [Moura], Cailee [Spaeny] and Stephen [McKinley Henderson] were off shooting a scene, and me and Jesse were doing some improvisation while they were filming their scenes.”
The Bring It On star previously explained to Marie Claire that she and the Friday Night Lights alum have an unusual way of working together.
“Because we fell in love on a set, we fell in love creatively first,” Dunst said. “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.”
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.”
