There's nothing more American than cheerleading. Except, maybe, hard-working, irrepressibly bubbly Kirsten Dunst. Perhaps that's why her cheerleader comedy Bring It On was the surprise hit of the late summer at US box offices. A former child model and actress since she turned double digits, the now-18 star has repeatedly impressed beyond her years in such films as Interview With The Vampire, Wag The Dog and, earlier this year, the haunting Virgin Suicides. Now in that tricky transition period from child to adult actor, Dunst seems that rarest of creatures: a level-headed Hollywood young person. Rah rah, as they say.

Everyone makes bad movies, but you seem to have been in more good ones than just about any of your acting peers. Is there a secret to that?

KD: It's important to me that I don't get trapped in the whole teen scene because I feel that you can get lost in those kind of movies, and they aren't really about the actors; they're about the selling of the concept, and how much money it makes. So I just try to choose the scripts that have the best characters for myself, or would be the most challenging, or fun.

Bring It On certainly seems to be mainly about the concept: teenage girls in mini-skirts and bare midriffs jumping around. How would you say the film fits your standards?

KD: It's got the comedic aspect, a believable romance and a lot of underlying messages that kind of tie the whole thing together. It's not your typical teen movie; usually in films, cheerleaders are stupid girls running around, or they're there to get killed. It's also got girls in short skirts, so guys'll like it too. It doesn't hurt to have that.

Did making the movie change your perception of cheerleading?

KD: I actually did it in eighth grade for a little bit, to fit in more. I just wanted to be more popular. Being an actress doesn't make you popular in school. I was always leaving to make a movie then coming back in. But this is so much more involved; for these cheerleaders, it's their life. They practise for a year to perform this five-minute show, and if one person messes up it throws the whole routine off. There were three weeks of pre-production training, but I was on another film so I only had a week. Luckily, I'm pretty good at catching on to dance and stuff, so it was fun for me. Crazy, but I liked it.

Your character, eventually emerges as a natural leader in the film. Did that reflect any aspect of yourself?

KD: On every film I do, whenever there are other girls my age, I think it's definitely up to me to set the pace. That's because I've had a lot of experience and I think there's always a certain amount of professionalism that should be maintained. If I was catty or whatever, it would just make the whole shoot unpleasant. And what's the point of that? It's like cheerleading; we're all a team, y'know?

You're appearing on Maxim covers in your underwear, but you still live at home. How important is family for a child actor growing up?

KD: You need your family in this business. It's one of the most important things to keep you grounded. You come home and your mom's like, "Clean the kitty's litter box." It's not like it's all about me. That's when you start to get into the parties, the drugs. All of that starts to happen, and everything moves very fast for you when you're alone and young. It really does.