Elle Fanning on Her Role as Princess Aurora in Maleficent #MaleficentEvent

It was so great to talk to Princess Aurora herself. When you look at Elle Fanning in the movie, you see a young, innocent teenager who is eager to learn. In person, you see the very same thing in Elle. She is not your typical 16 year old, this young lady is grounded and extremely intelligent.

She took on each question like a pro and answered them in a very open and honest fashion. I am looking forward to following this young woman’s career.  I predict we will be seeing a lot of this bright star!

What’s it like taking on the role of a Disney princess?

It was my dream. Whenever anyone asked what I wanted to be when I grew up when I was little, I would say, “A Disney Princess,” ’cause that’s the ultimate goal in life, I think for any young girl, especially Sleeping Beauty. She was always my favorite one ’cause I felt like I looked (like her) you know, when you’re little you see which ones you look like the most and she was the one that I looked like the most. So I would go to Disney store and I would buy her clothes and her shoes, so to get to play this is, it’s really, like, the dream.

Did you feel any pressure living up to Sleepy Beauty’s standards?

Yeah, I obviously I watched the animated movie so many times and it’s like you wanna do it justice because I feel like that Sleeping Beauty — they’ve already done it so perfectly, you know. I have to live up to that. So I did watch the animated film right before I started filming just because I thought it was in, she has a certain physicality ’cause she’s drawn, you know, drawn a certain way. And she holds her hands with these little gestures and her posture and her feet.

So I tried to bring that charm to the role. But also there is, in ours there is a little more to her ’cause she’s not just a delicate princess, you know. She has some strength and she actually shows real emotion. She gets sad and feels betrayal because a lot of secrets are hidden from her. It was nice in ours that we could make her more human than the cartoon.

I felt like she was so very innocent to the point of being naïve. How different is the character from Elle?

Right. Well she is that way because she’s been trapped, she’s in this little cottage, and she doesn’t know outside world and is being raised by fairies. Definitely very naïve in that way.

Everything she’s learned she’s kind of had to learn on her own and I guess for me, I’m still as happy and as curious as she is, I like to soak up a lot of information, so we’re very similar in that way. But I guess, it is exaggerated as a fairy tale. I don’t think any child can be that sheltered like she was in our time. So I guess I’m, I’m different in that way from her.

I think you made her very believable and you kept us very attached to her.

Thank you. I tried to do that because I know it could get boring if it’s oh, that girl is just the one who’s happy and doesn’t know anything, you know? I thought that to bring a sense to her that she’s always kind of desperate to learn and she’s trying to figure things out, that’d be nice. And to show that she hasn’t been taught to be scared yet, she doesn’t know to be scared of things that look different.

So when she does see Maleficent, she’s not scared of her, which is very strange for Maleficent because normally everyone’s so terrified of her, but this little girl’s not. Which I think that’s what makes them have this bond that they do.

Have you been able to see the film yet?

You guys have seen more than I have because you saw it in 3D and everything and I haven’t at all. I’ve seen it but all the special effects weren’t done.

What was your favorite scene to shoot?

Mine was when I pricked my finger on the spindle because it’s such an iconic — I mean, when I think about the original, that’s the scene I think of. To film that scene, it was the very last day of filming that we did, and I was like, oh gosh, kind of everything was building its way up to that monumental moment and I felt I wanted to do it right, everything has to be a certain way. That scene impacted me a lot when I was little, it scared me more than Maleficent did because of the way the lights were and it looked like Aurora was morphing into Maleficent with that green and purple light. So I was like, “We have to have those lights.” So they made it more of a green hue and then I had the trance, so I think it turned out, what I saw it turned out good, right?

Can you tell us about your audition process and where you were when you found out you got the part?

Yeah, it’s funny because it all happened really fast. A lot faster than those things normally do. I heard there was gonna be a Maleficent movie from the villains point of view, and so there has to be an Aurora in there. So I was like, oh my gosh, I hope I get to do that. They asked me to come in, the director Rob, for a meeting. So I met with Rob and Linda, and Linda was the writer. I went and had a meeting with them and we, we just talked. I think they just wanted to get a sense of me, kind of what I was like. They didn’t describe much of the story because they kind of already decided that they were gonna give me the part. So they told me in there that I got it, then they handed over the script which was like the coronation of everything.

I read the script in the car and kind of got motion sickness, like, reading it while driving home. But I did not stop. I just kept going. I was so excited!

Was it hard for you, without being able to see everything that was going on because of the special effects, to get where you needed to be in that moment?

It was a lot, it was more than I’d ever done before. You’re on a set and there is a stage and things are built on it, but everything basically surrounding you, all the little fairies, those are just tennis balls or little lights. There’s green and blue screens that you’re basically standing in, so you really, you have to imagine everything. It can get a little technical too, but then you don’t want your performance to be prohibited by the technicality of it.

You want to make sure that you’re still playing your character but you still have to be aware of the little (things), like the hand that you’re holding, but you’re not holding a hand, it’s air. You have to make sure how would I hold it if it was there? We had to do all this scanning, so whenever you had a hair change or a wardrobe change, you stand on this turntable and stand completely still and they turn you inch by inch and scan your body. That makes a virtual you into a computer and then they can take that virtual you and put you onscreen. So when I did all the floating and stuff, a lot of that was manipulated, I don’t know how it works but they did it.

Do you feel bummed out that you got a princess role with no singing?

I know! I was thinking about that! I was like, I’m surely gonna get to sing the song, you know? But for this one it just didn’t happen. Lana Del Rey, she sings that song in our trailer, and it’s so perfect. Our movie’s more gothic, you know? So it’s nice to have her haunting voice, a different take on it than just the original one.

After the interview she was kind enough to take a photo with our group.

MALEFICENT will be in theaters 5/30/14! ‪

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Disclosure:  I was provided with an all expense paid trip by Disney. This is accordance with Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of. Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.