Elle Fanning on the Art of OnlyFans, Acting With Sister Dakota, and Margo’s Got Money Troubles Season 2

In both the novel and the series, Margo’s modern stepdad makes the CPS call that triggers the custody battle. On the page, Shyanne is privy to Kenny’s plan. But in the show, she is shocked to learn of his betrayal—a choice that made sense given that the character gets a lot more backstory in the hands of mega-producer David E. Kelley, who has been married to Pfeiffer since 1993. “What David did with Shyanne’s character and their relationship, it’s really the heart of the show, that dynamic. And so, it kind of might be unforgivable for a mom to do that,” Fanning explains. “It just didn’t feel right with the character that Michelle created. It feels so true to mom-and-daughter dynamics of who’s the parent, who’s the child. They’re best friends at times. They tell each other everything, probably too much. It was always known we’d probably change that.”

With facilitate from Lace (played by Nicole Kidman), a wrestler turned attorney who becomes Margo’s mediator in court, the youthful mother makes momentary peace with Mark, though Fanning is skeptical. “You almost start to sympathize with him, even though he’s pathetic,” she says. “Like, you have mommy issues, and I see where this is coming from, and you’re definitely watching me on OnlyFans.”

Margo arrives amid a cascade of other projects that delve into the content-subscription platform known for amateur pornography, including recent seasons of Euphoria and Vanderpump Rules, the Sundance indie Bunnylovr, and the Apple TV series Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, which begins streaming on May 20 and centers on a crime involving a cam boy.

“I don’t do porn. I make art,” Margo tells one of the OnlyFans creators she’s enlisted to facilitate boost her profile. “All sex work is art—performance, fantasy art,” replies Rose, who is played by Lindsey Normington, an actor and stripper who starred in Anora. It was Normington who suggested Margo address her “internalized whorephobia” in the episode. “Margo’s kind of shaming herself. And it’s like, no, it’s all art. You are creating it. Margo’s on a journey to accepting that,” Fanning says. “At first, she’s just trying to get money, but then she starts to fall in love with the whole process.”

The final moments of Margo’s first season mark an essential milestone in our heroine’s OnlyFans journey—showing the world “the splendor of your poon,” as her mother puts it. The time has come because, as Margo explains: “The vagina is nature’s piggy bank.” Margo’s huge reveal isn’t about what lies between her legs—the camera doesn’t show any skin—but acts as an essential step in the character’s journey of sexual discovery. “When I turn, and the light just goes over my eye right as I wink, that was the money shot for us,” Fanning says.