Elle Fanning played one of her hardest, most complex roles yet in a film that premieres on September 18. Called About Ray, Fanning plays a transgender teen.

“I was really nervous not to screw up, because this is for transgender kids out there,” Elle Fanning says in an interview with The EDIT.

“We had trans kids at my school,” the 17-year-old sister of actress Dakota Fanning says of her private school. “They come back after the summer and you have to use different pronouns.”

Elle Fanning plays a transgender teen who is transitioning from female to male. She will soon be known as Ray rather than Ramona.

#TIFF15 Video – Watch: Elle Fanning's Incredible Performance In 'About Ray' http://t.co/vUGUKUCbK6 pic.twitter.com/eDGnwELkAW

— ET Canada (@ETCanada) September 12, 2015

Elle had to bind her chest in the film to play the role of Ray.

“It’s like a sports bra that you wrap around, only it’s Velcro,” she explains in her interview.

Elle Fanning was determined to do whatever was necessary in order to successfully play her role. The chest binding was very uncomfortable, but she persevered.

“It really kills your back!” she explains. “I had to wear one every morning. It hurt so bad!”

Hitting the red carpet, Elle Fanning plays a teenager struggling with gender identity in #AboutRay! #eOneLIVE #TIFF15 pic.twitter.com/oTXPh0XV3n

— eOne Films (@eOnefilms) September 12, 2015

Fanning, who played opposite Angelina Jolie in Maleficent, now can say she has starred alongside some other Hollywood greats. In About Ray, Naomi Watts plays Elle’s character’s mother. Susan Sarandon plays the grandmother.

Transgender films and TV shows are becoming increasingly popular. Caitlyn Jenner stars in I Am Cait on the E! network. Eddie Redmayne will soon star in The Danish Girl when it hits theaters in November.

Will Elle Fanning make an even bigger name for herself when she hits the big screen as Ray in About Ray? Is this a film you will plan to see?