Kirsten Dunst 'Burst Into Tears' When Cailee Spaeny Was Cast in Sofia Coppola'sPriscilla(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny and Sofia Coppola.Photo:Gilbert Flores/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty; Diego Donamaria/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty; Matthias Nareyek/GettyCailee Spaenyis sharing howKirsten Dunstcheered her on when she landed her role asPriscilla Presleyin last year’sPriscilla.At theSXSWworld premiere of Spaeny and Dunst’s new movieCivil WarThursday, Spaeny, 25, tells PEOPLE that she secured the lead part in filmmakerSofia Coppola’s most recent movie on the last day she and Dunst, 41, filmedCivil Wartogether.“So I got to tell her that I got the role and she burst into tears and gave me a massive hug. It was a really special, magical, kismet moment,” Spaeny, who described Dunst as a mentor on theCivil Warset, says.Dunst, well known for her collaborations with Coppola, 52, on movies likeThe Virgin Suicides(1999),Marie Antoinette(2006) andThe Beguiled(2017), adds that “of course” she remembers when Spaeny told her Coppola cast her inPriscilla.“I cried because I was also encouraging Sofia, because I was working with Cailee and I said, ‘I loved working with her,’ and I knew they would work well together,” she says. “So I was a supportive friend.“Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny.Rick Kern/WireImageSpaeny costarred withJacob ElordiinPriscilla, which follows the famous relationship and marriage betweenElvis Presleyand Priscilla Presley and is based on the real-life Priscilla’s 1985 memoirElvis and Me.Priscilla and Elvis, who Elordi portrays in the film, first met in 1959 and divorced in 1972.Priscillamarked a major breakthrough role for Spaeny, who is only six years removed from her first feature-length onscreen credits for appearances in the 2018 moviesPacific Rim: Uprising,Bad Times at the El Royale,On the Basis of SexandVice.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.When Coppola was promotingPriscillaback in September, she shared withWMagazinethat Dunst personally brought Spaeny to her attention as a potential candidate to play Priscilla. “Kirsten is like a sister to me, and when she recommended Cailee, I paid attention,” she told the outlet at the time, noting that she then offered Spaeny the role after a breakfast meeting in New York City.Civil War.A24InCivil War, the latest movie from filmmaker Alex Garland (Ex Machina,Annihilation), Dunst and Spaeny play two photojournalists documenting a horrifying civil war playing out within the United States.Wagner MouraandStephen McKinley Hendersonalso play journalists in the upcoming movie, which also stars Dunst’s husbandJesse Plemons.On the red carpet, Spaeny tells PEOPLE that she, Dunst, Moura and McKinley Henderson “got incredibly close because we were in a car really the whole entire film.““So it’s us four actors and we really had to lean on each other,” she says. “We shot it chronologically so that bond that I have with the actors was real. We shot in real time.“Priscillais streaming on Max now, whileCivil Warreleases in theaters April 12.

Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny and Sofia Coppola.Photo:Gilbert Flores/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty; Diego Donamaria/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty; Matthias Nareyek/Getty

Gilbert Flores/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty; Diego Donamaria/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty; Matthias Nareyek/Getty

Cailee Spaenyis sharing howKirsten Dunstcheered her on when she landed her role asPriscilla Presleyin last year’sPriscilla.At theSXSWworld premiere of Spaeny and Dunst’s new movieCivil WarThursday, Spaeny, 25, tells PEOPLE that she secured the lead part in filmmakerSofia Coppola’s most recent movie on the last day she and Dunst, 41, filmedCivil Wartogether.“So I got to tell her that I got the role and she burst into tears and gave me a massive hug. It was a really special, magical, kismet moment,” Spaeny, who described Dunst as a mentor on theCivil Warset, says.Dunst, well known for her collaborations with Coppola, 52, on movies likeThe Virgin Suicides(1999),Marie Antoinette(2006) andThe Beguiled(2017), adds that “of course” she remembers when Spaeny told her Coppola cast her inPriscilla.“I cried because I was also encouraging Sofia, because I was working with Cailee and I said, ‘I loved working with her,’ and I knew they would work well together,” she says. “So I was a supportive friend.“Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny.Rick Kern/WireImageSpaeny costarred withJacob ElordiinPriscilla, which follows the famous relationship and marriage betweenElvis Presleyand Priscilla Presley and is based on the real-life Priscilla’s 1985 memoirElvis and Me.Priscilla and Elvis, who Elordi portrays in the film, first met in 1959 and divorced in 1972.Priscillamarked a major breakthrough role for Spaeny, who is only six years removed from her first feature-length onscreen credits for appearances in the 2018 moviesPacific Rim: Uprising,Bad Times at the El Royale,On the Basis of SexandVice.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.When Coppola was promotingPriscillaback in September, she shared withWMagazinethat Dunst personally brought Spaeny to her attention as a potential candidate to play Priscilla. “Kirsten is like a sister to me, and when she recommended Cailee, I paid attention,” she told the outlet at the time, noting that she then offered Spaeny the role after a breakfast meeting in New York City.Civil War.A24InCivil War, the latest movie from filmmaker Alex Garland (Ex Machina,Annihilation), Dunst and Spaeny play two photojournalists documenting a horrifying civil war playing out within the United States.Wagner MouraandStephen McKinley Hendersonalso play journalists in the upcoming movie, which also stars Dunst’s husbandJesse Plemons.On the red carpet, Spaeny tells PEOPLE that she, Dunst, Moura and McKinley Henderson “got incredibly close because we were in a car really the whole entire film.““So it’s us four actors and we really had to lean on each other,” she says. “We shot it chronologically so that bond that I have with the actors was real. We shot in real time.“Priscillais streaming on Max now, whileCivil Warreleases in theaters April 12.

Cailee Spaenyis sharing howKirsten Dunstcheered her on when she landed her role asPriscilla Presleyin last year’sPriscilla.

At theSXSWworld premiere of Spaeny and Dunst’s new movieCivil WarThursday, Spaeny, 25, tells PEOPLE that she secured the lead part in filmmakerSofia Coppola’s most recent movie on the last day she and Dunst, 41, filmedCivil Wartogether.

“So I got to tell her that I got the role and she burst into tears and gave me a massive hug. It was a really special, magical, kismet moment,” Spaeny, who described Dunst as a mentor on theCivil Warset, says.

Dunst, well known for her collaborations with Coppola, 52, on movies likeThe Virgin Suicides(1999),Marie Antoinette(2006) andThe Beguiled(2017), adds that “of course” she remembers when Spaeny told her Coppola cast her inPriscilla.

“I cried because I was also encouraging Sofia, because I was working with Cailee and I said, ‘I loved working with her,’ and I knew they would work well together,” she says. “So I was a supportive friend.”

Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny.Rick Kern/WireImage

Rick Kern/WireImage

Spaeny costarred withJacob ElordiinPriscilla, which follows the famous relationship and marriage betweenElvis Presleyand Priscilla Presley and is based on the real-life Priscilla’s 1985 memoirElvis and Me.Priscilla and Elvis, who Elordi portrays in the film, first met in 1959 and divorced in 1972.

Priscillamarked a major breakthrough role for Spaeny, who is only six years removed from her first feature-length onscreen credits for appearances in the 2018 moviesPacific Rim: Uprising,Bad Times at the El Royale,On the Basis of SexandVice.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

When Coppola was promotingPriscillaback in September, she shared withWMagazinethat Dunst personally brought Spaeny to her attention as a potential candidate to play Priscilla. “Kirsten is like a sister to me, and when she recommended Cailee, I paid attention,” she told the outlet at the time, noting that she then offered Spaeny the role after a breakfast meeting in New York City.

Civil War.A24

A24

InCivil War, the latest movie from filmmaker Alex Garland (Ex Machina,Annihilation), Dunst and Spaeny play two photojournalists documenting a horrifying civil war playing out within the United States.Wagner MouraandStephen McKinley Hendersonalso play journalists in the upcoming movie, which also stars Dunst’s husbandJesse Plemons.On the red carpet, Spaeny tells PEOPLE that she, Dunst, Moura and McKinley Henderson “got incredibly close because we were in a car really the whole entire film.”

“So it’s us four actors and we really had to lean on each other,” she says. “We shot it chronologically so that bond that I have with the actors was real. We shot in real time.”

Priscillais streaming on Max now, whileCivil Warreleases in theaters April 12.

source: people.com