Kirsten Dunst put directing dreams on hold after welcoming son

Kirsten Dunst has postponed her feature directorial debut because she isn't ready to step behind the camera after welcoming her first child.

The actress, who gave birth to son Ennis with fiance and Fargo co-star Jesse Plemons last year, has been attached to direct the film adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar since 2016, but the star has revealed the production, once slated to star Dakota Fanning, has been shelved.

“This is the first year I’ve been a mom," she told Entertainment Weekly. "Directing a film and having a baby... that’s two years of your life, directing, editing, and promoting all of it.

"Maybe when I’m older I’ll want to (direct) again. Right now, I have zero interest in committing myself to that.”

For now, the 37-year-old is content to stay in front of the camera as the star of U.S. network Showtime's quirky new series On Becoming a God in Central Florida.

"I wanted to be more of an artist in my acting, instead of making tons of money being a star of every big whatever," she added. “Post-Spider-Man, it was like, I could definitely go down this romantic comedy route... Those were really popular then, too, but it just was like, ugh, no thank you. It wasn’t for me. I hated that kind of acting. It was so hard for me to do. Thank God Sofia Coppola would sweep me away to do a Marie-Antoinette (film) in between.”

Dunst previously tried her hand at filmmaking with the short films Welcome, starring Winona Ryder and John Hawkes, and Bastard, with Brian Geraghty and Lukas Haas.

The Jumanji actress will be honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 29 August. Plemons and Coppola will be on hand to salute her as she unveils the 2,671st star near the beginning of the famous Hollywood Boulevard sidewalk at La Brea Avenue.