Florence Pugh Talks 'Fighting With My Family,' Wrestling & Her "Bizarre Filmography" [Interview] - Page 2 of 2

So accepting the role came with lots of training I’m sure.
The physicality of it all is what excites me. I don’t think there was a minute of my childhood where I wasn’t active or fighting with my brother, but nothing prepared me for this type of training. Straight away Stephen Merchant is like, “Florence I want you to wrestle as much as possible so I can film you in the ring and have it look authentic.” It’s so wicked and rare opportunity that you’re allowed to do your own stunts on film sets, as most are scared of you hurting yourself. From the get-go, Jack Lowden and I were thrown into intense CrossFit as we each got a trainer (and I’m still with my trainer now) and then we started to wrestle.

Did you see Paige’s documentary “The Wrestlers: Fighting With My Family” before taking on the role? If so, what did you think about this working family of wrestlers?
Watching the documentary is the reason why I fell in love with this project and had to be a part of it. I think any random person reading the script on its own not having seen the documentary would say, “This is a bit over the top, no one talks like that, people don’t act like that.” Watching the documentary and you realize these people are real. Stephen has done such a good job of taking these people from the documentary, to the page, and then bringing them to life. Ultimately, the thing I love about this family is they are such a tight-knit unit and at the end of the day they are there to support one another when it counts.

But I’m sure things can get strange when everyone in the family is into the same thing…
I know family can be tricky when two people do the same thing, so I get the tension between Paige and her brother. I come from a family of actors and at times we may go through spells of not working, or one of us will get something major. So the Bevis family dynamic is so similar to how I saw my family, as in we support one another through those rough patches.

How much influence did Paige and The Rock have over the project? Did you form a synergy or bond with the two of them? And did that helped propel your performance at all?
The Rock is a true part of Paige’s success and Paige and it’s wonderful to see him be a part of this her story. He made sure to be there throughout our wrestling and training to make sure we were learning the correct skills.

This may shock you but I didn’t meet Paige until three weeks ago. We’ve spoken and have been friends for the whole ride. Paige is an amazing force, and I think people love her because she represents being totally proud of being different. She was recovering from a neck injury and this prevented us from meeting. However, I’m glad I didn’t meet her before filming because if I did I would be studying her and sculpting my performance around that interaction rather than adding my own interpretation to the performance.

What do you hope wrestling and movie fans take away from watching Fighting With My Family?
I hope people understand, and see how hard it is to achieve your goals—and when you achieve those goals, it doesn’t stop there. Even though Paige achieved her dream of becoming a professional wrestler, she made many sacrifices. I think the mistake people make is looking at others lives and thinking the grass is greener on the other side, and while that is the case sometimes, there is still struggle involved. The journey doesn’t get any easier. I think that’s what this story does really well is showing that you have to give to get.

”Fighting with My Family” is in theaters now!