MALEFICENT's Elle Fanning Interview: 'I Smile A Lot Too'
- Details
- Category: Interviews
- Created: Thursday, 29 May 2014 13:26
- Published: Thursday, 29 May 2014 13:26
- Written by Lupe R Haas
Did it hurt smiling so much for Elle Fanning as the naive Princess Aurora in the Disney retelling of Sleeping Beauty? The MALEFICENT star answers that question and talks about her first time meeting Angelina Jolie in our Q&A with the actress.
Elle Fanning is all smiles in MALEFICENT as the cursed princess in a reboot of the classic Disney fairytale. She's starring with Angelina Jolie as the vindictive fairy Maleficent which opens May 30th.
Q: Is there a Disney villain or a princess that you liked and would like to see get the Maleficent treatment?
Elle: It's weird because my favorite was Sleeping Beauty because I felt like I looked like her the most when I was little. You gravitate towards the one you look most like. She had the long blond hair and wore the pink dress and not the blue like Cinderella. So I loved pink so she was my one. This is like a dream... the biggest dream come true in my life.
Q: Are you like Aurora in some ways or how are you different? She's always so happy. Did you ever get tired of smiling?
Elle: We are very happy and I think from that we get excited by things and smile a lot. I think she's a little more naive because she's trapped away and sheltered in this little cottage. I have experienced more things and traveled more then she has but she's still curious which I like about her. In the original animated film she's one dimensional. She's just a pretty princess. So for our version it was really important for us to create a depth to her that no one really knew before. Also show her be a human and experience sadness and betrayal and real emotions instead of frolicking in the forest and playing with animals.
Q: How was it working with Angelina on set?
Elle: I was nervous to meet her because you hear that name and it's like the most powerful name ever (laughs). To actually meet her in the flesh...I don't know what I was actually expecting because you see pictures of her and she looks so intense, so I thought she was going to be really intense. So when I met her for the first time I didn't know I was going to meet her that day and everyone started saying 'she's here, she's here.' The knot in my stomach was getting bigger and I turned the corner and there she was. She wasn't in her costume thank God because that would have been terrifying. She was just in normal clothes and we are both huggers so we immediately gave each other a giant hug. She shook my shoulders and said we are going to have so much fun working together. The nervousness went away because she's still powerful when she walks into a room because she has that presence. I got to know the sensitive side to her because her kids were always on set and because she was really playful and joked around. People on set were calling her Angie and I was like no I can't bring myself to do that I still call her Angelina.
Q: Now you're going to have a doll modeled after you, how cool is that?
Elle: I know, my grandma went to the Disney store and was hoarding all the dolls. She had a batch of them at the register and they told her you can only take five. So weird to see myself but it was a good one. Sometimes you see them and you're like 'whoa!'
Q: Do you now get to go to Disneyland with a lifetime pass?
Elle: I know that would be fun but I haven't asked. I can just dress up and pretend I'm Aurora.
