LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� It can sometimes be difficult for child actors to shed public conceptions of them as a kid, hindering them from being taken seriously in Hollywood as adults.
But at 30, is feeling better than ever about her creative voice and agency.
鈥淎t this point in my life, I feel very settled in like who I am and what I want and what I don鈥檛 want and what I like and what I don鈥檛 like,鈥� she said while promoting her latest film, 鈥淭he Watchers,鈥� which hits theaters Friday.
That鈥檚 not to say Fanning didn鈥檛 receive critical acclaim almost as soon as her career began. She is, after all, the youngest person to receive a nomination 鈥� she was 7 at the time 鈥� in the show鈥檚 nearly 30-year history for her performance in 鈥淚 Am Sam.鈥�
But in the more than two decades since that 2001 breakout role, Fanning has learned a lot about the nature of the business and how to achieve both success and satisfaction in it, something that inspired her to start a production company with her sister and fellow actor,
鈥淏eing an actor for so long, you are reliant on other people to want you to be in their movie, to pick you, to believe in you,鈥� she said of their decision to launch Lewellen Pictures. 鈥淓ventually you鈥檙e like, 鈥榃ell, I just kind of want to make that happen for myself.鈥欌��
Fanning has made a lot happen for herself, including earning a degree from New York University despite working consistently since the age of 5. While in school, she studied the portrayal of 鈥� something she says she has always been interested in, especially when it comes to female characters who aren鈥檛 necessarily 鈥渓ikable.鈥�
鈥淧eople are people and make mistakes and don鈥檛 always do the right thing. And I think sometimes people can be afraid to portray female characters in their totality with the messy parts too,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 always interested in exploring that and not being afraid to play a character that鈥檚 not 鈥� I mean, I don鈥檛 even know what likable means. Who鈥檚 likable?鈥�
The realness of Fanning鈥檚 character in 鈥淭he Watchers鈥� is part of what drew her to the role, something she and director Ishana Night Shyamalan bonded over. Based on A. M. Shine鈥檚 novel of the same name, the film is a kind of psychological horror fantasy which tells the story of Mina (Fanning), a free-thinking young artist who gets trapped with a group of strangers in an Irish forest full of mysterious creatures.
鈥淭here was a relatability to the character that I was playing that we both could really understand,鈥� Fanning said. 鈥淏eing a woman in your 20s and figuring things out.鈥�
As the daughter of 鈥� who produced the film 鈥� it鈥檚 no surprise that both directing and horror are in Ishana Night Shyamalan's blood. But although she grew up immersed in the world of filmmaking, visiting her dad鈥檚 sets, it took years before it occurred to her that directing could be in her own future.
鈥淢y experience is that the kind of filmmaker role is very much suited to a male kind of psyche. It鈥檚 sort of about being confident and loud and controlling a space. And so that was very difficult for me to understand how I could fit into that,鈥� Shyamalan recalled.
But in recent years, she鈥檚 observed a changing ethos permeating filmmaking 鈥� one she is encouraged by 鈥� that helped her realize she could do it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my feeling that there鈥檚 like a wave of just a different, kind of like phase two of filmmaking, where I think it can be accessible to a lot more types of people. And that鈥檚 very necessary,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he types of stories that we tell and the ethics of the process I think in some ways need to be redefined or reinvented for this era.鈥�
Krysta Fauria, The Associated Press
