NEWSDakota Fanning Reveals ‘Sisterly’ Squabble With Elle Fanning on ‘The Nightingale’ Set
Dakota Fanning opened up about a “sisterly” squabble with Elle Fanning while filming 'The Nightingale.'
Aug. 12 2026, Updated 4:37 p.m. ET
Dakota Fanning revealed a "sisterly" squabble with Elle Fanning while filming their upcoming movie, The Nightingale.
"But right towards the end, there was a scene we were doing … it was like this really hot room and we were on this couch, and I was like, ‘Move your leg!'" Dakota said during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on August 11.
She added, "And she was like, 'My leg has been here all day.' I was like, 'No, it hasn’t. Get off of me. I’m too hot. You’re sweating on me.' She was like, 'You’re sweating on me!' I was like, 'Stop talking!'"
Dakota, 32, opened up about working with Elle, 28, on a major film for the first time. The sisters starred together in the adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s bestselling World War II novel.
Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning Were Nervous to Work Together
Dakota Fanning discussed working with her younger sister, Elle Fanning, on 'The Nightingale.'
"We were quietly nervous about it," Dakota said of working alongside her younger sister. "I think we didn’t really want to tell the other one how nervous we were."
Although the sisters had acted together in their playroom as children, Dakota explained that they had never worked together on this scale before. Their close relationship made the experience especially unusual.
"We were like, 'Are we gonna laugh? Like, are we gonna be able to keep it together?'" Dakota recalled.
She added, "It’s the person that knows you best in the world that you’re acting with, and we’re super close. We were a little silently panicked."
Dakota Fanning recalled a funny hot room scene moment with Elle Fanning during a scene on 'The Nightingale' set.
Dakota also revealed that Elle had established one important boundary before filming began.
"I was nervous because she had made it clear that I was not allowed to do any older sister behavior on set," she said.
Dakota added, "I had to treat her like I would treat any other actor. And I did, for the most part."
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The Sisters Finally Let Their Dynamic Show
Dakota Fanning revealed that she and Elle Fanning were nervous about sharing the screen in 'The Nightingale.'
Looking back on the moment, Dakota said it was the only disagreement she and Elle had during filming.
"It was the only 'fight' — it was not a fight — [we had on set]," the Emmy nominee added.
She continued, "The crew was dying because we had kept it so together the whole time. They were dying because it was so sisters."
The playful exchange gave the crew a rare glimpse of the sisters’ real-life dynamic after they had remained professional throughout production.
Dakota and Elle Fanning Starred as Sisters
Dakota Fanning explained the boundary Elle Fanning set before they began filming 'The Nightingale.'
Per Us Weekly, in The Nightingale, Dakota and Elle portrayed sisters Vianne Mauriac and Isabelle Rossignol, who resisted N--- occupation in France during World War II in very different ways. The sisters also served as co-producers on the film.
The movie featured Oscar-winning Mark Rylance as their father, Julien Rossignol.
