According to the filmmakers, Dakota Fanning was the only actress considered for the role of Ray. “Dakota was not only the perfect age for Ray, it’s like the role was written for her,” says producer Fisher Stevens.
Do you think you're growing up too fast?
I don't because when I go home, I play with my baby dolls and strollers and diaper bags, and play with my sisters. I still think of myself as nine years old.
Is it true you learned to read at two?
Yes, it is. I learned to read at two. I was in a Montessori school and they teach you to read really, really young.
How much did you know about obsessive-compulsive disorder before starring in “Uptown Girls?”
I watched “The Odd Couple” in preparation to play Ray, because they're sort of like Molly and Ray a little bit. But, I'm sort of like Ray in a couple of ways. I'm neat and clean. I kind of go crazy if there's stuff all over the place. My sister is like Molly and I'm like Ray in the sense that she's five and everything's everywhere in her room. And then my room is perfect. Everything's in order. It's all in its right place. So, I'm like Ray in those ways and I've also done ballet for a really, really long time.
Is it true you don't rehearse a lot?
Yes, I sort of just kind of read over it. I don't try to get too familiar with it because then I know sometimes we adlib stuff and it changes. We take stuff out and we add stuff in.
Was there a lot of adlibbing in this film?
Yes, there was. Boaz Yakin, the director, was very open to ideas. If you don't like this thing, you can totally change it and do something else, and just go with it.
Did you have a lot in common with Brittany Murphy?
Brittany's like my big sister. I'm the oldest sister in my family and she's just fantastic. She's like the dream babysitter. If I had a babysitter, I would want her to be exactly like Brittany. She's so nice to everybody and treats everybody so nice. The first day, she was like, "I'm Brittany." She introduced herself to everybody that she possibly could. I’ve learn something from every person on my movies and I learned from her how good it makes other people feel when you're really nice to them. I just want to be more like her.
Who have you learned the most from so far?
I learned something different on all my movies. I learned from Sean Penn, he taught me how to adlib. Then I learned from Denzel Washington, he's just so focused on his work and he puts his whole thoughts into it. And then Mike [Myers], he's just so hilarious. He's just so fun to be around. Brittany, she's so nice to everybody and she's just hilarious and funny, but then also she's very dedicated to her work and just does a fantastic job.
What do you like about acting?
Just meeting people like Brittany and all the actors and going to locations that you might not go to in your life, and just getting to play other people.
Was making this movie your first time in New York?
It was. I had only been there for about less than a day to do an interview and then I was there for two months. It was really, really cool, you know, to see everything. It looks exactly like when you see it on TV. At the Empire State Building, I cried in line for 45 minutes because I didn't want to go up. I pulled my visor down, but I loved it once I was up there. I've never been up that high before, so I didn't really know what to expect. And then when I got up there, the view was spectacular. It was really fun.
