‘I crave dark humour’: Backstage with… Elle Fanning on season three of The Great

Elle Fanning has graced film screens since the age of three, when she played the younger version of her sister Dakota in I Am Sam.

Since then, Elle has made a name for herself in Hollywood portraying Aurora in Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent, Michelle Carter in The Girl From Plainville and Catherine, Empress of Russia, in The Great.

Her portrayal of Catherine The Great has earned her a Primetime Emmy nomination in 2022 as well as multiple nods from the Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globes and Critic’s Choice Awards.

Now in its third season, we see Catherine and Peter, played by British star Nicholas Hoult, attempt to make their marriage work after some seemingly irresolvable issues between the couple.

Speaking to Sky’s Backstage podcast, Elle Fanning commended the show’s creator, Tony McNamara, who wrote and executive produced the series.

“What is he going to come up with next? His brain. He’s so genius. He’s so dark as well. Like, Tony, you’re twisted. But he really that’s what it blends so perfectly. He’s such a genius.”

What makes the series stand out compared to other historical dramas is its use of dark humour, allowing storylines to transition from comedic scenes to bloodshed and violence in the blink of an eye.

“I crave that humour,” says Fanning.

“It’s like when there’s a really kind of funny, crazy moment, always turning it on its head and making the audience question and feel something and get emotional about something like right after. So, it’s a balancing act, for sure. But it’s real.”

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This is one of the first times, since appearing in Daddy Day Care when she was four, that Fanning has been able to lean into a more comedic side of acting.

“Living in the comedy space is really fun for me, which was kind of it was different. And now I feel like I’ve settled in and gotten used to that space.”

The Great is very loosely based on the lives of Catherine The Great, Empress of All Russia and her husband Peter III of Russia, who was famously overthrown by his wife and died in captivity.

The previous two seasons picked moments from history as inspiration for the series – and ignored others – so there is a chance that Peter could survive in the fictitious retelling.

Fanning says: “I think this season is also about destiny and fate. A lot of our seasons have been, but maybe this one more so than others.”

Hulu, the production company behind The Great, hasn’t confirmed if there will be a season four of the show, which raises the question for fans of a potential spin-off in its place.

But Fanning doesn’t think it’s likely: “Amongst the cast, we’ve talked about this like, I don’t think it would happen.

“I think I would like to see Marial [Catherine’s friend played by Phoebe Fox] or Aunt Elizabeth [played by Australian actress Belinda Bromilow]. I don’t know. All the women maybe.”

The Great season three is available to stream now on Lionsgate+.

Hear more about it on the latest episode of Backstage – the film and TV podcast from Sky News.