In 2019, Ari Aster‘s “Midsommar” established the director as one of the world’s must-watch horror directors. And Florence Pugh‘s performance in the film cemented her as one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars. But the actress thinks she may put herself through too much to bring her character Dani’s tragic story to life.
EW reports that on the new episode of the “Off Menu” podcast, Pugh opened up on how emotionally difficult her role in “Midsommar” really was. “Each day the content would be getting more weird and harder to do,” Pugh told podcast cohosts James Acaster and Ed Gamble. “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.”
For those who haven’t seen “Midsommar,” spoiler alert for what’s ahead: in the film, Pugh plays Dani, a young woman grieving from a recent family tragedy who travels with her boyfriend and his friends to Sweden to a remote village, whose communal practices soon take a dark and sinister turn. In short, this pastoral community is a cult of sorts, and their rituals gradually modify Dani and her friends into what they wish them to be: new members or sacrifices.
Pugh had never played a character like Dani before and felt tremendous responsibility toward her. “I was so wrapped up in [Dani], and I’ve never had this ever before with any of my characters,” Pugh continued. “I’d never played someone that was in that much pain before, and I would put myself in really shi*ty situations that maybe other actors don’t need to do, but I would just be imagining the worst things.”
Pugh had a busy shooting schedule in 2019, and left the “Midsommar” shoot three days early to begin work on Greta Gerwig‘s “Little Women” in the US. Leaving early left the actress feeling “immense guilt” for also leaving Dani behind to her fate. “I definitely felt like I’d left her there in that field to be used,” Pugh said. “She can’t fend for herself, almost like I’d created this person and then I just left her there to go do another movie.”
And while Pugh thinks Dani survives her ordeal at the Swedish village, she’s not escaping it, because she’s simply no longer the same person. “I think she survives,” continued Pugh, “[But] it was more like she was in a different place. She wasn’t her anymore. I do think she will be given respect and love in a weird way there, [but] I don’t think she’s ever coming back from this.”
But Pugh moved from “Midsommar” just fine, with roles like “Little Women,” “Black Widow,” and “Don’t Worry Darling” making her one of the movie industry’s hottest actresses at the moment. Up next, Pugh has Christopher Nolan‘s “Oppenheimer,” out this summer, and Denis Villeneuve‘s “Dune: Part Two,” in theaters this July. As for Ari Aster, he returns to theaters next month with his first film since “Midsommar,” “Beau Is Afraid.” That film looks like another intense odyssey, although maybe not quite as traumatizing, but who knows? “Beau Is Afraid” hits theaters on April 21.