Actress Elle Fanning has called her
transgender role in the film About Ray her “most
challenging.”
In About Ray, Fanning, 18, plays
a teenager transitioning from female to male. The film also stars
Susan Sarandon as Ray's lesbian grandmother and Naomi Watts as the
mother.
About Ray premiered at last
year's Toronto Film Festival but has yet to open in the United
States.
At Variety's Power of Young
Hollywood event, Fanning opened up to Entertainment Tonight
about the role.
“About Ray was one of the most
amazing roles I've ever played, probably the most challenging,”
Fanning
said. “I play a transgender boy and I got to met with so many
amazing young guys. Just talking to them, hearing their stories. It
was powerful.”
“I'll never fully feel the way they
feel, but I think to have a movie that's about a transgender teen
isn't done often but it needs to be out there.”
In an interview with Variety,
she expanded on how she prepared for the role.
“I spoke to a lot of transgender
guys, and hearing their stories was really powerful. They had so
much courage to just tell their story and answer difficult
questions,” Fanning
said.