Elle Fanning Dishes on Working With Angelina Jolie and Her Directorial Hopes For the Future

Updated on 1/17/2020 at 5:40 PM

Elle Fanning has quite a few accomplishments under her belt, and she's showing no signs of slowing down. Currently, the 21-year-old actress and February Marie Claire cover star is gearing up for the release of Netflix's All the Bright Places. The adaptation of Jennifer Niven's 2015 novel of the same name features Elle as the lead Violet Markey, who works through past trauma and mental illness after meeting a boy named Theodore Finch (Justice Smith).

Speaking to Marie Claire, Elle opened up about her forthcoming role, as well as her experience growing up in the spotlight. Not only has she been able to tell powerful stories at a young age, but she's also formed connections with some of the best in the business — notably her Maleficent: Mistress of Evil costar Angelina Jolie and The Beguiled castmate Nicole Kidman. While Elle talked about her evolving relationship with Angelina, she also shared some helpful advice from Nicole. And it sounds like she's taking it to heart as she continues to develop a career in acting and, hopefully, directing. Look ahead to read some of the standout quotes from Elle's cover story!

On the importance of her upcoming film, All the Bright Places: "Depression and mental illness in young people is so real, and it's something people don't want to talk about and want to shy away from. It has to be out there for people to see it, to get help, to not keep it hidden."

On how she connects to All the Bright Places: "At that age, I was experiencing first love and, like, relationships and just how impactful that is on your life. That never goes away for people. That first love is so intense and sets up so many things in your life. And also, not to get into too much, but it was also . . . not the best . . . It was kind of a tumultuous relationship."

On portraying a girl with Tourette syndrome in 2008's Phoebe in Wonderland: "I realized, 'Oh, this is a job, and I'm telling someone's story, and there is a responsibility of getting it right.'"

On working with Angelina Jolie in 2014's Maleficent versus the 2019 sequel: "Angelina's and my relationship definitely changed. She didn't have to look at me as a kid; she didn't have to censor what she could talk about. That was exciting, to have that relationship."

On the advice Nicole Kidman gave her about choosing projects: "Because a lot of people are all, 'You have to be so delicate. You have to choose this,' and Nicole is like, 'It's OK, you're young! Freedom!'"

On her hopes for the future: "Now that I've gotten older, I'm much more interested in developing projects and reading material, producing it, maybe not being in it but just getting it made. I really want to direct . . . so the way the sets work, it fascinates me."