Elle Fanning on Playing Two Characters in Predator: Badlands
Elle Fanning shared her experience portraying two synthetic characters in Predator: Badlands. The film connects closely to the Alien franchise, as revealed through the first trailer earlier this year. Fans quickly noticed that Fanning’s character Thia is a synthetic created by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation.
However, Thia is only one of Fanning’s roles. She also plays Tessa, another synthetic from Weyland-Yutani. This required Fanning to act opposite herself in several scenes, a demanding challenge despite the seamless final result.
Challenges of Playing Dual Roles
During an interview with ComicBook promoting Predator: Badlands, Fanning explained the difficulty of performing multiple characters in the same scene. She emphasized the effort to differentiate the characters:
“[Director] Dan [Trachtenberg] and I, we really worked to make the characters, really differentiate them and make them quite [distinct]. We wanted to make the most polar opposite as possible.”
To manage scenes where both characters appear, stunt doubles and stand-ins sometimes filled in. Fanning noted:
“There were actors that came in even my stunt girls … they would step in and put the suit on and do kind of over the shoulders and we would read together. So there’s movie magic and movie tricks, but also you had to remember what you did the day before, or how you were going to react because also you don’t know what tape they’re going to use.”
Filming Techniques and Performance
- Use of stunt doubles and stand-ins for over-the-shoulder shots
- Careful planning to keep character reactions consistent
- Collaboration with director Dan Trachtenberg to create distinctive personalities
Despite the complexities, Fanning's commitment brought a convincing portrayal of two distinct synthetic characters in the film.
Author's Summary
Elle Fanning discusses the intensive process and creative teamwork required to convincingly play two synthetic characters in Predator: Badlands, balancing acting challenges with movie magic.