Actress says she, character have grown

For Kirsten Dunst, the difference between "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2" was "more perks" — as in having her own hair, makeup and wardrobe people.

"That was fun to have a little posse because I've never had that before," says the veteran of such films as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Bring It On," "Dick," "The Virgin Suicides" and "Interview With the Vampire."

Of the younger actors in the cast, including Tobey Maguire and James Franco, Dunst had the highest profile before the release of 2002's "Spider-Man," but she says the film's blockbuster success hasn't affected her much.

"I mean, now I'm known worldwide, I guess, so I can finance movies," she says. "It's not a question whether or not I can get people to come see a movie that I'm in, so that all helped me. And I get paid more, too."

In "Spider-Man 2," Dunst returns as Mary Jane Watson, who is loved but kept at a distance by Peter Parker, who doesn't want her to share the risks of his secret life as the crime-fighting Spider-Man. Two years have passed in the chronology of the "Spider-Man" story, and that's had an impact on the actors and their characters.

"I've grown up," says Dunst, 22. "Mary Jane's grown up, and I think that's reflected in the movie. You see that she's much more mature than Peter. He's stayed kind of juvenile because he doesn't have any social life.

"The last movie, he was the decision maker in that 'we can only be friends,' and this movie, she decides for them, which I'm really happy about. She's the one pushing him to do things, and it's usually the man in movies that often pushes the woman."

Returning to a character, cast and crew she knew turned out to be a positive experience for the New Jersey native.

"I feel like all my relationships developed so much more on this one," the petite blonde tells reporters. "I just felt more comfortable. (Director) Sam (Raimi) and I got to know each other better. I had changed a lot from how I was on the first movie and how I approached my work and my relationships."

Like her co-stars, Dunst is contracted to do a third "Spider-Man," but she says that will be the last. "Three's enough," she says. "Don't wear out a good thing."

She hasn't heard what the plot of the third will be, but she has some ideas of her own.

"It would actually be really interesting if Spider-Man died, I think," she says. "I think that if Mary Jane was alone and pregnant and he dies, she could give birth to a Spider-Baby and carry on the series with another young boy.