Florence Pugh said an interview with British Vogue that she did something this past summer that she’s never done before in her career: Asked to take a break from acting. The Oscar nominee had been working at breakneck speed for several years, filming roles in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” Marvel’s “Thunderbolts” and the upcoming A24 romance drama “We Live in Time.” It was time to hit the pause button.
“[It’s] the first time ever in my career when I’ve actually asked for a summer break” Pugh said. “I’m an absolute work maniac, [but] I can see I’m exhausted. I suddenly woke up last year and I was like, ‘I hate how much of my life I’ve missed.’ Yes, I want to have a career forever, but that’s not going to happen if I work myself into the ground.”
Pugh is recharged after a summer off, and she recently attended the Toronto International Film Festival to world premiere “We Live in Time” alongside co-star Andrew Garfield. The romance film, directed by “Brooklyn” helmer John Crowley, opens in U.S. theaters Oct. 11 from A24. Pugh plays a chef who falls in love with the man (Garfield) she accidentally hits with her car. The film tracks their love story in non-chronological order, starting with a cancer diagnosis that befalls Pugh’s character. The part required Pugh to shave her head on camera.
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“For any actor taking a role like this, it is completely important that you see her head and we see her shaving it – it was just always a no-brainer,” Push said. “You have the honor of doing something to yourself that is totally in support of the character.”
“In many religions, hair is the most precious thing on the body – it’s where you store your memories and your dreams and your history,” she added. “[Shaving] it was really bizarre. My head was so sensitive and so many people were trying to touch it and it was so alive. My body went into a bit of trauma from it. I was cold all the time.”
Pugh always wants to fully commit to her characters. She said during an interview last year on the “Off Menu” podcast that she “most definitely” abused herself to get into character for “Midsommar.” The Ari Aster-directed horror movie starred Pugh as Dani, a grieving American psychology student who breaks down when she joins her toxic boyfriend on a trip to Sweden’s midsummer festival.
“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 said. “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.”
Head over to British Vogue’s website to read Pugh’s latest cover story in its entirety.
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