Dakota Fanning has spent years quietly carrying one Hollywood dream that she had never told anyone about. She now admits she had never been more nervous when she personally wrote to Quentin Tarantino, hoping to land a role in his upcoming film. What began as a bold move to chase a long-held dream soon turned into an opportunity she could hardly believe was real.

And seeing Fanning, it seems sometimes, the biggest Hollywood dreams begin with one fearless little note.

Speaking on Happy Sad Confused with Josh Horowitz, Dakota Fanning revealed just how intensely she prepared after her little note landed her an audition in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. She listened to music from the film’s time period before walking in and recalled shaking so badly that her knees were knocking together. But the nerves began to fade when she discovered that Tarantino personally reads the scenes with actors, something she did not know beforehand, because instead of sitting back and judging her performance, he was right there acting alongside her.

"I have never been more nervous in my whole entire life. I was shaking like knees knocking together like I didn't know how I was going to do it." Fanning told Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

Fanning’s audition, as she revealed to Josh Horowitz,  came after she personally wrote Tarantino a note when her agent mentioned that there could be a role in his upcoming film, which at that time was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. She knew very little about the project or what character might be available, but decided to reach out anyway, hoping the opportunity might lead somewhere even if it was not for this particular movie. The move carried extra weight because Fanning had secretly dreamed of working with Tarantino for years without ever telling anyone, making the eventual invitation to audition a particularly meaningful moment in her career.

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But while one dream role is now within reach, Fanning’s 2026 slate is already keeping her firmly in Hollywood’s spotlight.

Dakota Fanning stars alongside Jake Johnson and Cory Michael Smith in The Sun Never Sets, a romantic dramedy directed by Joe Swanberg. The film, shot on 35mm in Alaska, premiered at SXSW and is scheduled for a September 4, 2026 theatrical release. She is also expanding her role behind the camera as an executive producer on Apple TV+’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles, working alongside her sister Elle Fanning on the A24-produced family comedy.

Fanning is also attached to star in an untitled Apple TV+ thriller, where she will reportedly play an undercover Treasury agent caught between a dangerous international investigation and complicated personal loyalties. The series comes from Homeland producer Alex Cary and remains in development, adding another intriguing project to her upcoming lineup. Meanwhile, fans of Ripley have less promising news, with Andrew Scott confirming in 2026 that Netflix has decided not to move forward with a second season.

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Would you love to see Dakota Fanning in Quentin Tarantino’s next film? Let us know in the comments.