Elle Fanning Covers The New Issue Of Harper’s Bazaar UK

Elle Fanning is on the cover of the May issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK. The actress is on the cover to promote the newest season of her Hulu show, The Great. Highlights from her interview are below.

On taking on the role of Catherine The Great: “When I was first cast, Tony told me there was really no need to do any research, because the story is not tied to historic fact,” says Fanning. “But I did do some, because before I stepped into her shoes, the only thing I knew about Catherine the Great was the rumour she’d had sex with a horse – which actually feels like one of the earliest forms of slut-shaming. So, partly, I wanted to reclaim her name a bit – to bring to the fore how progressive she was in championing science and female education, being an engine behind the Russian Enlightenment, separating church and state.”

On how she has grown as an actor as she has gotten older: “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. I may not always have the answer, but I’ve realised that sometimes you do have to have a little bit of that Catherine ego and say, ‘Listen to me!'”

You can check out even more from her interview here. The new season of The Great premieres on May 12.