Seek and ye shall find

Little Dakota Fanning is making a big splash in Hollywood.

Just 10, Dakota already has worked with many top actors. But the pint-sized star has become an A-lister in her own right.

This will be her biggest year yet. She’s set to shine in five movies, including Robert De Niro’s Hide and Seek which opened No.1 at the box-office with $22 million.

Dakota and Tom Cruise are now filming War of The Worlds, Steven Spielberg’s remake of the 1953 sci-fi classic. She’s Glenn Close’s daughter in Nine Lives, which just premiered at Sundance. She narrates In The Realms of the Unreal, a documentary about artist Henry Darger, now in limited release. And she co-stars with Kurt Russell in the tentatively titled drama Dreamer.

Unfazed by high-powered actors and seven-figure paydays, Dakota says she simply enjoys what she’s doing.

"I just love acting so much; this is what I want to do for the rest of my life," says Dakota who began filming Charlotte’s Web.

Those who have worked with the young star rave about her skills. "Dakota is a wonderful, special, gifted actress and one of the most professional I’ve worked with," De Niro says.

Says Nine Lives director Rodrigo Garcia: "She saved my butt — I couldn’t find another child actor who could go toe-to-toe with Glenn. That’s why so many people turn to her."

Realms director Jessica Yu auditioned 40 girls before settling on Dakota.

"She intuitively understood the project and has this wonderful, wise quality," Yu says.

"These days, Dakota is so in demand that she no longer auditions for films, a rarity among child actors. Given her track record, it would have been insulting for her to read for the part," Hide and Seek director John Polson says.

Worried that the blond actress might be overexposed after high-profile turns opposite Sean Penn in I Am Sam, Denzel Washington in Man on Fire and Mike Myers in The Cat in the Hat, Polson auditioned 60 actresses. "We thought maybe there’s another Dakota," he says. "It didn’t take long to realize what the playing field was like. She’s in a league of her own."

Dakota wound up in black wig and dark makeup to alter her appearance. "It was fun," she says.

Her mere availability can help greenlight a project. John Gatins’ Dreamer screenplay initially featured a boy. Gatins later rewrote the script for Dakota.

And fellow actors say she, like Jodie Foster and Kirsten Dunst, can make the transition from child star to adult roles. "There’s no way she’ll lose her head or be swept away by what she’s accomplished," says Elisabeth Shue, Dakota’s castmate in Hide and Seek and Dreamer. "She’s remarkably grounded and mature."

Director Tony Scott, who helmed Man on Fire, agrees. Her part was written for a 12-year old, but Scott believed that she could handle it at age eight. "She does her homework. It’s like she’s 10 going on 40," he says.

Dakota began performing for her family as a toddler. When Dakota was five, parents Joy and Steve Fanning took her to Atlanta talent agent Joy Pervis.

"If anyone was ever born for this business, it’s Dakota," Pervis says. After Pervis convinced that Dakota was Hollywood-ready, she landed a string of TV guest shots on series such as ER and Ally Mcbeal. Her film career took off after 2001’s I Am Sam.

Dakota’s parents prefer to remain out of the limelight and declined interview requests. "This is about her, not them. They don’t push her," says Dakota’s agent, Cindy Osbrink.

"If she decided she didn’t want to do this anymore, they’d be fine with it."

Except for a three-month break last summer, Dakota has worked steadily for four years. She says she doesn’t miss the normal life other kids her age experience. But the end of filming saddens her.

"The hard part is when you’re done," she says. "You’ve met all these wonderful people. And then it’s over."

Hide and Seek opens today in Philippine cinemas from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.