Elle Fanning is willing to do whatever it takes to prepare for roles. In a March 12 interview with PEOPLE, the Oscar-nominated actor revealed that she made an OnlyFans account to do research for her new Apple TV series, Margo’s Got Money Troubles.
Speaking at the show’s premiere at Austin’s SXSW Film & TV Festival, Fanning said “there were a lot of things” that went into preparing for her role. “Obviously, I am an Instagram user and a TikTok user. I got to look at that,” she said. “Also, we had to dive into OnlyFans a little bit. We did create an account for the writer’s room, and for me, so I could check out how the website is.”
That said, Fanning didn’t actually post anything on OnlyFans — at least not as herself. Rather, she simply scoped out the website with the show’s writers, since her character Margo eventually uses OnlyFans to get herself out of financial ruin. And just like an intimate scene, there were some mindful parameters put into place for the cast and crew.
“There was a lot of looking at OnlyFans with the writers, but we all gave consent to each other before we did it,” co-showrunner Eva Anderson said at a panel following the premiere. “We were very responsible, and we just tried to get as much information as we could before we started.”
Why Does Margo Join OnlyFans?
Fanning plays the titular role of Margo Millet, an aspiring writer who drops out of college after an affair with her junior English professor leaves her pregnant, plunging her into financial distress and forcing her to lean on her parents.
Michelle Pfeiffer — whose husband David E. Kelley created the show — plays her mom Shaynne, a former Hooters waitress, while Nick Offerman portrays her father Jinx, an ex-pro wrestler. The series also stars Nicole Kidman as a mediator between Margo and her professor, as well as Marcia Gay Harden, Greg Kinnear, Thaddea Graham, Michael Angarano, Rico Nasty, and Lindsey Normington.
In December, Fanning told Deadline that she had “the most wonderful experience” working with her castmates, and called Margo a “hopeful” character. “She’s dealt these hardships in life, but somehow she always is able to overcome them,” she said. “I think she was really inspiring to play because of that, and the world is just very specific and very fun.”
