Dakota Fanning coped "very well" with her English accent in new film Now Is Good, her co-star Olivia Williams has said.

The US star plays a terminally ill girl who makes a list of things she wants to do before dying, with Olivia and Paddy Considine playing her parents.

And Dakota's on-screen mum insisted the starlet's estuary English was up to scratch.

"Dakota did very well, she got an accent coach – there's a big business in accent coaching these days," Olivia said.

"(Accents) just aren't a big deal, it's part of the job. It's a shame that people find it so distracting."

Brunette Olivia donned a blonde wig for Now Is Good – and was surprised at how the change made her feel.

"It was a bit of a release, I've always been dark-haired and I've never had the courage to go blonde, so it was really fun just to whack on a wig and see what happened," she confessed.

"I don't know whether I became a bit more sort of animated and flirty or people treated me in a way that was more animated and flirty but I suppose blondes do have more fun."

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