Kirsten Dunst On the Time She Got Burned By Viggo Mortensen
Eric Eidelstein
Last night Rodarte’s Mulleavy sisters and renowned fashion writer Derek Blasberg hosted a lavish event in honor of the New York premiere of Hossein Amini’s directorial debut “The Two Faces of January.” Indiewire had the opportunity to cover the event, where we spoke to the acclaimed writer-turned-director and one the film’s stars–the one and only Kirsten Dunst.
The crime drama, an adaption of the Patricia Highsmith’s beloved novel, follows a married couple (Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst) vacationing in Greece in 1962. There they meet a handsome American expat (Oscar Isaac) who not only finds himself falling for Dunst’s character, but also immersing himself in the shady couple’s drama.
Amini, who wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for “The Wings of the Dove” (and more recently the Ryan Gosling-starring “Drive”) shared with us his reason for wanting “Two Faces” to be his first directorial effort.
“Well, I sort of decided very naively when I was in University it was going to be my directorial debut, but I didn’t realize it would take me 20 odd years to get it made. So iit was always in the back burner. It was always the one I wanted to direct when I got the chance to, but I never got the chance until Viggo came on board the film and financing,” he said.
All smiles, Amini also discussed what he found so captivating about the 1960s in the first place.
“I just think there’s an innocence. In America, Kennedy is alive. And there is so much good will towards America for helping in the war and stuff. And it really turned the era after it. There was something about these Americans in a foreign country in that period that really really appealed to me,” said Amini.
“Mine wasn’t so scandalous. Viggo’s was the fun and scandalous one. I don’t think mine was scandalous at at all. Mine was more having to deal with the scandal,” said Dunst.
Before she was whisked away by her team, Dunst also told us about a memorable behind-the-scenes experience.
“Viggo burned me with a lighter. He had to illuminate the scene when I pass away—I don’t know if that’s bad to say. Anyway, he had this lighter lit and I laid my arm down on it and I still have a scar. And he was crying and I didn’t want to mess up his scene. So I burned myself,” said Dunst, before showing us her scar and then walking away.
