Elle Fanning plays the adolescent princess Aurora in Maleficent, a character who is all sweetness and light. The 16-year-old actress recently told L.A. Daily News that like that character, Elle herself is a “very energetic, excited person,” in real life, adding, “I definitely do smile an awful lot, it’s kind of part of me.” But compared to her character in the movie, Elle says, “This is a fairy tale, so it’s exaggerated, of course. No one can be that naïve.”

She continued, “But it was difficult to get my character right and not just make her the girl who is happy all the time. Even though she is so lovely, you want to give her a little more substance and depth. We worked on that, to make sure she was not someone you would just disregard.”