Kirsten Dunst on working with partner Jesse Plemons in Netflix Western film

Kirsten Dunst said she wants to work as much as possible on-screen with partner Jesse Plemons (Ian West/PA)

Kirsten Dunst said she wants to work as much as possible on-screen with partner Jesse Plemons.

The actress, 39, stars in Netflix’s Western drama The Power Of The Dog, which also features Benedict Cumberbatch as domineering Montana rancher Phil Burbank.

Plemons stars as Cumberbatch’s brother, George, who falls for and marries Dunst’s character, Rose.

Kirsten Dunst stars alongside partner Jesse Plemons in The Power Of The Dog (Ian West/PA)

The couple have been together off-screen since 2016 and are engaged.

Speaking at The Power Of The Dog’s Los Angeles premiere at the AFI Fest, Dunst said she enjoys mixing her personal and professional lives with the father of her two children.

She told the PA news agency: “Jesse and I fell in love creatively first so we want to work with each other as much as we can over the course of our lives.”

The Power Of The Dog is Oscar-winning filmmaker Jane Campion’s first movie since 2009 and is attracting awards season buzz.

Dunst revealed she and British star Cumberbatch, 45, did not talk on set in order to enhance their performances.

She (Jane Campion) wrote me a letter in my twenties about working together and it didn't happen and so her films and the female performances in her movies have always been an inspiration for me

“Jane gave Benedict permission to be Phil on set,” she said. “Because Benedict is a very kind person, he’s very English. He apologises a lot, he’s just someone who (will) take too much time and energy to say ‘good morning’ and things like that.

“And Jane just wanted him to focus on just being Phil. And so we didn’t talk to each other on set.”

Dunst, known for films including  Bring It On, Spider-Man and The Virgin Suicides, had been hoping to work with Campion, 67, for years.

She said: “She wrote me a letter in my twenties about working together and it didn’t happen and so her films and the female performances in her movies have always been an inspiration for me.”

The Power Of The Dog will be streaming on Netflix from December 1.