Actress Kirsten Dunst says her "Melancholia" director Lars Von Trier's difficult reputation made her scared about working with him.

"I was scared about working with Lars because everyone made such a big deal about how he tortures actresses," contactmusic.com quoted Dunst as saying.

"When I first got to know him, I was shocked by the things he would say, but you don't make the movies he makes with a PC personality. But what I found was a really sensitive, funny and kind director who was emotionally intuitive. He loves women," she added.