Elle Fanning on the set of Three Generations

It took a paparazzo with an eagle eye to spot Elle Fanning on the New York City street set of her new movie, Three Generations, on Tuesday, because she couldn’t have looked more different.

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The 16-year-old actress, who is a Miu Miu model and Fashion Week staple, and most recently played an ethereal Princess Aurora in Maleficent, has transformed to play a transgender teenager named Ray who’s transitioning from female to male in the upcoming drama. As you can see above, her character sports shorter, shaggier red hair and is dressed in the kind of flannel and T-shirt getup that wouldn’t look out of place in Seattle, circa 1991.

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Fanning at a Hollywood event in August

The film, directed by Gaby Dellal, has some pretty big co-stars for Fanning to play against. Naomi Watts plays Ray’s single mother Maggie, who is grappling with the major changes in her child’s life. Meanwhile, Susan Sarandon plays Watts’ lesbian mother Dolly, at whose brownstone they’re all living.

Fanning will next be seen in Trumbo, opposite Bryan Cranston. Between the Breaking Bad star, Watts, Sarandon, and Angelina Jolie in Maleficent, she’s putting together a pretty impressive list of co-stars.

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Susan Sarandon, Elle Fanning, and Naomi Watts on the set of Three Generations

Photo credit: @FAMEFLYNET PICTURES, @Splash News, Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP