Elle Fanning said that when she was 16, she was told she lost a role in a film because she was “unfuckable.”
Fanning shared the story as a part of The Hollywood Reporter’s “Comedy Actress Roundtable” during a conversation with her fellow actors Jenna Ortega, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Natasha Lyonne, Ayo Edebiri, and Devery Jacobs.
Fanning, Ortega, and Lyonne began acting at a young age, and Lyonne and Fanning spoke about their unsettling experiences with casting directors and producers.
Fanning said that while she had “an amazing manager and agent” who largely shielded her from inappropriate feedback, some comments still made their way through to her.
“I’ve never told this story, but I was trying out for a movie,” Fanning said. “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 — but this one got to me. I was 16 years old, and a person said, ‘Oh, she didn’t get the father-daughter road trip comedy because she’s unfuckable.'”
When asked how it affected her, Fanning said, “I don’t feel like it damaged me, but it definitely made me very aware of myself.”
But both Fanning and Lyonne said that growing up in the public eye was unsettling at times, and Lyonne — who said she had less-than-present parents — shared that she was asked to do inappropriate things in auditions.
“I remember auditioning for ‘Lolita,’ the remake, when I was 14 or 15, and it was like, ‘Can you eat this banana slowly?'” Lyonne said, referring to the 1997 film.
“I was already a bit of a tough guy, so I was like, ‘So you mean eat the banana slowly?'” she said. “But it’s sick. Ultimately, it seems like your question is one about stepping into autonomy — and certainly being able to find a measure of autonomy, that’s the blessing of having some success. You can be a little more selective and wise about what you’re stepping into.”
Elle Fanning is sharing “disgusting” feedback she got during a casting process as a teen.
During The Hollywood Reporter‘s Comedy Actress Roundtable where she discussed her role on Hulu’s The Great, Fanning, 25, also recalled being deemed “unf—able” at just 16 years old when she auditioned for a “father-daughter road trip comedy” movie.
“I’ve never told this story, 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,” Fanning began.
“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 — but this one got to me,” she continued. “I was 16 years old, and a person said, ‘Oh, she didn’t get the father-daughter road trip comedy because she’s unf—able.’ “
Added Fanning, “It’s so disgusting. And I can laugh at it now, like, ‘What a disgusting pig!’ “
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Asked how she processed that at the time, Fanning said, “I was always immensely confident, 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,” she explained.
Fanning, who is younger sister to actress Dakota Fanning, said she was “very protected” as a child star in Hollywood.
“I have an amazing manager and agent who’ve been with me since I was 8 or 9, same people,” she said.
Known for films like Maleficent, Super 8 and The Neon Demon, Fanning told Harper’s Bazaar U.K. in April that she’s gaining more confidence in her work life.
“These days, I feel like my voice matters. For a while, I’d be like, ‘Oh well, I’m young, people don’t necessarily want to listen to me, they probably know more anyway.’ But there comes a point when you register that you’ve been doing this for 20 years,” she said.
“I may not always have the answer, but I’ve realized that sometimes you do have to have a little bit of that Catherine [the Great] ego and say, ‘Listen to me!’ “