Elle Fanning learned "how to be a woman" through making 'Mary Shelley'.
Elle Fanning
The 20-year-old actress portrays the 'Frankenstein' author in the new biopic from Haifaa Al-Mansour and though the precocious writer lived in the 19th century, Elle promised the tale - which documents Mary's tumultuous romance with the poet Percy Shelley (Douglas Booth) - still feels "timely and modern".
She said: "I felt like I learned a lot from Mary about how to be a woman.
"I felt like I took her life on and experienced it all from beginning to end from her, which was exciting.
"The movie is very... it's a period piece but it's also very timely and modern."
Elle hailed the movie as a "milestone", not only because she learned a lot and related to the character as an artist, but because it marked her move into adult life.
She said:" What fascinated me about the script was that it's about a struggling artist, but it's a woman struggling artist, which you don't see very often.
"When I filmed the movie, I was 17, about to turn 18.
"This was the last movie that I had to do school on the set. It was a milestone movie for me.
"I really felt wiser and more mature after."
The actress hailed the author as a "feminist icon" and feels she's often overlooked in discussions about classic authors.
She told Total Film magazine: "I remember talking about Mary Shelley in school but just Lake Geneva and Lord Byron and that story. It's true but it's not the most interesting thing about her.
"She's a feminist icon, but most people don't hold her in the same regard as, say, Jane Austin.
"She's just very interesting and not given the credit that she deserves."
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