Dakota Fanning amused by good girl reputation

Dakota Fanning finds it funny that she's known for not going off the rails.

The 23-year-old began acting when she was a child, appearing in 2001's I Am Sam alongside Sean Penn and War of the Worlds opposite Tom Cruise in 2005.

As an adult, Dakota continues to uphold a professional reputation both in front of the camera and away from work, causing some onlookers to comment on her lifestyle - especially the fact that she hasn't suffered any public mishaps like other former child stars like Lindsay Lohan and Macaulay Culkin.

"It always cracks me up when people talk about how I haven't gone off the rails − which I have not, by any means − but you know, I'm a normal person," she told Britain's Marie Claire magazine. "I love a party and I love having people over for any occasion since I've had my own apartment in New York. I'm always like, 'You can stay with me!' I don't cook, but I make cocktails. I make a good margarita."

Although her roles have developed over time, the blonde star is still seen by many as younger than her years, with the actress noting she laughed when people described her role as a political terrorist in 2016's American Pastoral as "grown-up", despite the character being just 16 years old.

Dakota isn't all about acting though, and will both star in and produce the upcoming big screen adaption of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, directed by Kirsten Dunst. On top of that, she has taken on a women's studies course at New York University.

"I do have moments where I feel like nowadays being just an actor isn't enough," she said. "I was listening to (podcast) Anna Faris Is Unqualified, which I love, and I was like, (in a paranoid whisper) 'She's an actor. Now she has a podcast... Am I supposed to get a podcast?!'

"It used to be that if you were an actor and you did certain things, it was cheesy, but things are changing so much."