Elle Fanning transformed into a bad girl for Sofia Coppola's latest movie

Sofia Coppola loved turning "sweet" Elle Fanning into a vain bad girl for her new film The Beguiled.

The dramatic thriller, a remake of the 1971 movie of the same name starring Clint Eastwood, sees a wounded Union soldier, played by Colin Farrell, taken in by a group of sheltered young women at a girls' school during the Civil War.

Elle plays Alicia, a seductive student, opposite an all-star cast that also features Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Dunst.

"Elle is so sweet, and a kid, and to have her play this role where she's kind of like the... mischievous one, very vain and kind of a bad girl - that's the opposite of her personality," Sofia smiled to Vogue. "I thought that was really fun."

"Sofia was so excited about making me the bad girl!" Elle added.

Elle has been acting since she was a child and, along with her older sister Dakota, has become one of Hollywood's hottest names.

On the set of The Beguiled she impressed her older co-stars, with Irish charmer Colin particularly blown away.

"I'm not sure I've ever worked with an actress who seems to operate from such a place of deep instinct as Elle," he commented.

Nicole was quick to agree: "Her work feels effortless."

The Beguiled hits cinemas from 29 June (17), and will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival later this month (May17).

The film marks the second time 19-year-old Elle and Sofia have worked together, after first teaming up on Somewhere in 2010.

"She just had a really fun, sparkling personality," Sofia recalled of Elle's Somewhere casting. "It's that rare combination of being sophisticated but a kid at the same time - she's not a mini-adult like a lot of kid actors."

"All of a sudden, she's much taller than me," Sofia added with a laugh. "But the same person, with the same sparkly essence."