Dakota Fanning recalls being asked regularly if she had 'gone off the rails'

Dakota Fanning has recalled being repeatedly asked whether she had "gone off the rails".

The Uptown Girls actress revealed that people were often waiting for her downfall due to the reputation attached to child stars.

Speaking to fellow former child star Hilary Duff for Interview Magazine, Dakota admitted the scrutiny made her determined to never make a mistake in public.

"I have high standards for myself, but I've gotten to a point where I'm like, 'Today's not my day and that's okay,'" she said. "Growing up, and I'm sure you heard this a bunch too, people were always like, 'You haven't gone off the rails yet? Are you okay?'"

"You're like, 'What? It's almost like you're willing me to go off the rails by continuing to ask me this,'" she continued. "And so you manage that by being like, 'No one will ever see me make a mistake.'"

The 32-year-old added, "But now, I don't carry that with me."

Hilary insisted that she "totally" understood what Dakota meant and would "grin and bear" inappropriate questions because she was instilled with a strong sense of politeness.

"No matter what people would say to me, which would sometimes be massively inappropriate, I would just grin and bear it," the Lizzie McGuire star stated. "It's the Southern upbringing, which I appreciate, but it's also been nice to grow up and be like, I can keep some of that but not destroy myself in the process."

Dakota began her acting career at the age of five, securing her first major guest role in ER in 2000, while Hilary was 10 when she landed her first starring role in the 1998 television film Casper Meets Wendy.