Fanning: 'Spielberg Taught Me More Than School'

Child actress Dakota Fanning relished working with legendary director Steven Spielberg on War of the Worlds, because he taught her more than she could have hoped to learn at school.

The 11-year-old, who first grabbed attention starring alongside Sean Penn in I Am Sam aged only 7, always makes the most of the opportunities which come her way by remembering every scarp on new information she learns.

She tells the New York Daily News, "I always think I might never have this opportunity again so I try to cram a lot of information into my brain. I still have my normal school where I learn about spelling and math and science and all that stuff, but I feel when I go on a movie set, I'm learning about movies. I learned 100 lessons a day from Steven.

"Everything that came out of his mouth, I thought, 'Okay, I have to remember that!'"

And the Saving Private Ryan film-maker is equally as impressed with his young charge: "Dakota is unaware of how talented she actually is. During filming, she quickly understands each scene or situation, measures it against how she'd really react, and acts the truth every time."