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You Won't Believe The One Reason Elle Fanning Got Passed Over For A Role

elle fanning comedy actress roundtable
The Hollywood Reporter's Comedy Actress Roundtable for 2023 has dropped. This year's lineup features Ayo Edebiri from The Bear, Elle Fanning from The Great, Devery Jacobs from Reservation Dogs, Natasha Lyonne from Poker Face, Jenna Ortega from Wednesday, and Sheryl Lee Ralph from Abbott Elementary.Among the lighthearted moments, like Sheryl Lee Ralph dreaming up a Marvel movie for them all to star in and Ayo Edebiri joking about whether she'd ever book a role as Pete Davidson's girlfriend, there were some moments that definitely took me aback.Each woman shares an instance where she's been talked down to or been the brunt of horrible comments, and one of the most shocking was a story that The Great's Elle Fanning shares.

Hear From Elle Fanning, Jenna Ortega, And The Rest Of The Comedy Actress Roundtable

The actress, who also starred as Sleeping Beauty in Maleficent, talks about growing up as a child star and being perceived by so many people at such a young age: "I've always been confident but of course you're growing up in the public eye...I don't feel like it damaged me but it definitely made me very aware of myself."

When she was sixteen, Elle auditioned for a father-daughter roadtrip comedy, but didn't get the part. (She also clarifies that the movie never got made).

"I was literally sixteen years old," she says, "and this person [involved with the project] said 'Oh she didn't get the father-daughter roadtrip comedy because she's 'unf*ckable.'"

Everyone around the table was completely taken aback (as was I the first time I watched it), especially since Elle emphasizes the fact that the content of the film wasn't supposed to be remotely sexual.

"[My team is] very protective, they wouldn't tell me things like this, but I heard it from an outside party," Elle also says. "That filtration system is really important because there's probably a lot more damaging comments that were said that they filtered out."

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Lead image via Joe Maher / Stringer

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