Elle Fanning says she lost out on movie role at 16 after being deemed “unf-ckable”
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, American actress Elle Fanning revealed she was turned down for a movie role at 16 for being “unf-ckable”. The 25-year-old star of The Great joined several other female Emmy contenders for the Comedy Actress roundtable feature, including Sheryl Lee Ralph, Natasha Lyonne and Ayo Edebiri.
While discussing their respective climbs to fame in the industry, Fanning unfurled a troubling story about a time when she was rejected for a family movie role based on her looks. “I’ve never told this story,” she said. “But I was trying out for a movie. I didn’t get it. I don’t even think they ever made it.
“But it was a father-daughter road trip comedy. I didn’t hear from my agents because they wouldn’t tell me things like this. That filtration system is really important because there’s probably a lot more damaging comments that they filtered.”
“I was 16 years old,” she continued. “And a person said, “Oh, she didn’t get the father-daughter road trip comedy because she’s unf-ckable.”
“Whoa, at 16?” Lee Ralph responded. “Of course, there are so many stories like this,” Fanning replied. “I’ve talked to people about this. And I can laugh at it now, like, what a disgusting pig!”
Fanning then showed respect for her management team for shielding her from the brunt of negative feedback when she was a child star. The actor continued to explain that she could deal with the situation because she was “born” with a heightened sense of confidence.
“I was always immensely confident,” she said. “But, of course, you’re growing up in the public eye, and it’s weird. I’ll look at paparazzi photos from when I was 12 and think, ‘Is that a good thing to see such a mirror of yourself at that age?’ I don’t feel like it damaged me, but it definitely made me very aware of myself in a way.”
“I don’t regret it,” she added on becoming a star in her delicate younger years. “It’s whatever. It’s amazing. And I’m glad I found what I love from a young age. I feel like I’ve grown.”
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