ELLE FANNING

The Great

The first season of Hulu’s historical comedy was all about Catherine the Great’s rise to power, and the second begins with her grabbing the crown from her husband, Peter (Nicholas Hoult). “The second season is asking the question, ‘Once you have the power, what are you going to do with it?’ ” says star Fanning. “As Nick likes to say, once she

takes power, she makes Peter her sex slave.” That naturally complicates the relationship between the two royals. “There’s a real push and pull with them. Peter is desperately in love with Catherine. Catherine still hates him and wants to kill him. But at the same time, she’s keeping him alive for a reason.”

That reason, as seen at the top of the sixth episode of the current season, is for purely carnal purposes. “He’s doing the ‘tongue trick’ on her, and he stops to say, ‘I think it’s a one-way street here,’ ” Fanning says. “Nick and I were both excited to do this because it’s all this back-and-forth, Bringing Up Baby-style with lots of [fast dialogue]. I do think Catherine is a little like Katharine Hepburn — she can take control of a room with all of her spunk.”

Fanning says that the second season arc for her character has been a rewarding one because she’s been able to play with Catherine’s best and worst qualities as a leader all at once. “I’m glad the show doesn’t make her a girlboss. She's a feminist, but she’s still making mistakes, and although her heart is good … she can be a bit of a tyrant sometimes.”

Elle Fanning on The Great