Why Dakota Fanning Has Always Dreamed of Turning 30! (Exclusive)

Dakota Fanning has been acting since she was seven, and now, more than 50 movies later, she’s starring in the thriller “The Watchers.”

“Extra’s” Melvin Robert spoke with Dakota about the new film, as well as about turning 30.

Dakota explained why she’s dreamed of being this age since she was kid. She said, “I’m, like, mature, like, an old soul… I sort of was like, ‘I just want to be 30. I don’t want to be a 30-year-old in an 8-year-old’s body.’”

Fanning added, “Thirty feels like a proper adult but still young and fun — that’s what I want and that’s how I feel.”

Despite her early rise to fame, Dakota has remained grounded all these years. She said, “I just have a really great family and really great fans and people that love me a lot and support me. I’m surrounded by people that want the best for me and also will tell me when I’m wrong.”

Fanning noted that her mother is “not afraid to tell me when I’m making a mistake.”

Dakota joked that her mom will even show up on her doorstep if she isn’t answering her phone! She elaborated, “She calls over and over and over again. She’ll show up at the door, like, she does not care… If she thinks we’re not safe or doesn’t know where we are, like she’ll be there.’”

In “The Watchers,” produced by M. Night Shyamalan and directed by his daughter Ishana, Dakota is a woman stranded in a forest along with three strangers, who are all stalked by mysterious creatures at night.

Fanning admitted that she wouldn’t handle the situation well in real life, saying, “If I don’t have an end date or an end time for something, that’s when I sort of start to panic. I need to know, like how long am I going to be here. I can’t do the never-ending, not-knowing thing.”

For the movie, Fanning had to film some tough scenes in which she was cold and wet in a forest. She kept a positive outlook, saying, “It maybe not the most appealing place to be, but you’re still creating something and doing something, and working with… a crew of people that are all there because they want to be… No one wants to be wet and cold in a forest, you know. You have to really be there because you care about the thing that you’re making.”

Due her acting career, Dakota travels a lot and loves “being home” during her downtime.

She said, “Love having parties at my house, love having people over. I love just running errands. I love to go to the grocery store so much. It’s, like, my favorite thing.”

As for what's on her playlist, Dakota is a member of the Beyhive!

"'Cowboy Carter' is on my iTunes," she gushed. "It is so good. I love it."