Florence Pugh on the extreme 'bleak' way she got into character for Midsommar
It was a lot to deal with
No one can say Florence Pugh isn't dedicated to her craft.
The actress once reminisced on how exactly she managed to portray the anguish of her character, Dani, in the terrifying 2019 film Midsommar, and it sounds like she really put herself through it.
"I'd never played someone that was in that much pain before, and I'd put myself in really sh*t situations that maybe other actors don't need to do," Florence told Ed Gamble and James Acaster on the Off Menu podcast last year (via People).
"Each day, the content would be getting more weird and harder to do, I was putting things in my head that were just getting worse and more bleak."
She also said: "I think by the end, I had probably, most definitely abused my own self in order to get that performance."
The way she threw herself into the role had consequences on Florence's own wellbeing once filming wrapped, she explained to James and Ed.
"I remember looking down and feeling immense guilt, like I felt so guilty, because I felt like I'd left her in that field, in that state, and it was so weird, I'd never had that before," she told the comedians.
"It's funny, I'd obviously created such a sad person and then felt guilty that I'd created that person and then left her."
Hopefully, now that a few years have passed, Florence has been able to put Dani behind her.
Right now, the actress' fans are super excited about one of her latest projects, the film We Live in Time — in which her costar is none other than Andrew Garfield.
The trailer was released last week, and it looks incredibly moving. Directed by John Crowley, who also directed Brooklyn, the film tells a tragic love story that starts when Florence's character runs Andrew's over with her car. A bit incongruous, maybe, but exciting nonetheless.
