Florence Pugh Reflects on “Psychological” Pain of Filming Midsommar

Florence Pugh is known for an array of roles, and these days many fans know her best as Yelena Beova from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it was her run of movies in 2019 that really put her on the map. Not only did she star as the WWE wrestler Paige in Fighting with my Family, but she also earned an Academy Award nomination for playing Amy in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and left a lasting impression on horror fans with her leading role in Ari Aster’s Midsommar. While playing Dani in Midsommar may have led to a lot of opportunities, Pugh recently admitted that the performance took a toll on her. 

“When I did it, I was so wrapped up in her and I’ve never had this ever before with any of my characters,” Pugh told the Off Menu podcast. “I’d never played someone that was in that much pain before, and I would put myself in really shitty situations that maybe other actors don’t need to do but I would just be imagining the worst things.” Pugh added, “Each day the content would be getting more weird and harder to do. I was putting things in my head that were getting worse and more bleak. I think by the end I probably, most definitely abused my own self in order to get that performance.”

She explained of going right from Midsommar to Little Women, “I remember looking [out the plane] and feeling immense guilt because I felt like I’d left [Dani] in that field in that [emotional] state,” Pugh shared. “It’s so weird. I’ve never had that before… Obviously, that’s probably a psychological thing where I felt immense guilt of what I’d put myself through but I definitely felt like I’d left her there in that field to be abused…almost like I’d created this person and then I just left her there to go and do another movie.”

While Pugh admits filming Midsommar wasn’t exactly easy, she did praise Aster’s work. “Once you laugh at one thing, he will try and make you laugh at all the other things. He’ll keep going and everybody will be crying in fits of laughter.” She continued, “We were shooting in a very hot field with three different languages, so I wouldn’t say that all of it was pleasurable,” Pugh continued about making the movie. “Also, it shouldn’t be. Why would making a movie like that be pleasurable?”

What Is Florence Pugh’s Next Marvel Project? 

Pugh is signed on to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the film Thunderbolts. It was recently reported that Pugh will be getting an “eight-figure” payday in her salary for multiple upcoming Marvel films. The movie will also feature Wyatt Russell (John Walker/US Agent), Hannah John-Kamen (Ava/Ghost), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Valentina Allegra de Fontaine), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier), and Olga Kurylenko (Taskmaster). It was previously announced that Star Wars and Indiana Jones legend, Harrison Ford, has been cast as Thaddeus Ross and will first be appearing in Captain America: New World Order. The role was originally played by William Hurt in The Incredibly Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow. Sadly, Hurt passed away last year. Jake Schreier (Paper Towns) is confirmed to be directing Thunderbolts while Eric Pearson (Black Widow) is signed on to write the script. Thunderbolts is expected to mark the end of Marvel’s Phase 5.

Stay tuned for more updates about Thunderbolts.