Dakota Fanning has a lot to be proud of, from finding success as a child star in projects like Uptown Girls and War of the Worlds to earning Emmy nominations as an adult with her performance in <a href="https://comicvibe.com/every-new-indian-movie-series-on-netflix-in-august-2026/” title=”Every New Indian Movie & Series on Netflix in August 2026″>series like Ripley and All Her Fault. However, she jokingly recalls one surprising moment when she was a kid as the “peak achievement” of her career.
In a recent conversation with Josh Horowitz on his Happy Sad Confused podcast, Fanning, 32, joked that winning a Critics’ Choice Award in 2002 for her performance in I Am Sam was her “peak achievement,” not just because of the win but because of what happened when she delivered her acceptance speech, per People.
Fanning, then 7 years old, was too short to speak into the microphone so Orlando Bloom, who was presenting the award, picked her up and held her to the mic so she could say her thanks. Unfortunately for the Pirates of the Caribbean star, he didn’t realize how long her speech was, as Fanning recalled “[thanking] God and my agents … I have a lot of people to thank, and then at the end, my mom, dad and my little sister Elle.”
And the video turns out to have followed her throughout her life.
“People make me watch it all the time,” she said. “I was just with my sister’s boyfriend’s family this past weekend; it’s their favorite thing. Someone came over, a friend; they were like, ‘Have you seen it? You have to see it.'”
She joked that she was “literally running down the hall of the house to get away” from the video and hiding out in a room, but still couldn’t escape her younger self.
“I come out, still not over, still talking,” she said. “Orlando Bloom’s shaking like a leaf trying to hold me up.”
Fanning explained that she still finds it “so funny” and “[loves] it,” despite how long her speech was.
“I don’t not like it, but listening to it sometimes, I’m like ‘Oh my God, oh my God, it’s still going,'” she said.
Fanning and her younger sister Elle Fanning are both up for awards at the 2026 Emmys next month, Dakota for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Anthology Series or Movie for All Her Fault and Elle, 28, for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Margo’s Got Money Troubles.
The 2026 Emmy Awards, hosted by Mariska Hargitay, will air live on Monday, September 14, starting at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Check out the full list of nominations.
