Florence Pugh Says She 'Abused' Herself for Her HarrowingMidsommarPerformance: 'I Can't Do That Again'

Mar. 15, 2025

Florence Pugh in “Midsommar” (2019).Photo:Courtesy of A24

Courtesy of A24

Florence Pughlearned the importance of boundaries after her emotionally taxing work makingMidsommar.

While on a recentepisode of theReign with Josh Smithpodcast, Pugh, 29, recalled her struggles while makingMidsommar.

“How have you learned to look after yourself and your mental wellbeing [while working]?” host Smith asked, to which Pugh replied, “Gosh, that’s a good question — I’m still figuring it out.”

“I don’t think I’d be able to do this without going there all the way and putting myself in all of those characters that I’ve played. There’s always a piece of me,” said theWe Live in Timeactress.

“There’s always a moment at the end of filming where I, like, protect and defend those characters until the very end, even if they’ve done god-awful things,” explained Pugh. “I think that’s only natural when you’re in someone for so long.”

She said “protecting” herself is something she’s had to “learn how to do” over the years. “There have been some roles where I’ve given too much and I’ve been broken for a long while afterwards. Like when I didMidsommar, I definitely felt like I abused myself in the places that I got myself to go.”

Florence Pugh on Feb. 18, 2024.Joe Maher/BAFTA/Getty

Joe Maher/BAFTA/Getty

“I mean, the nature of figuring these things out is you need to go, ‘Alright, well, I can’t do that again ‘cause that was too much.’ But then I look at that performance and I’m really proud of what I did, and I’m proud of what came out of me. I don’t regret it.”

“But, yeah,” she added, “there’s definitely things that you have to respect about yourself….”

Back in March 2023, Pugh, who earned an Oscar nomination for 2019’sLittle Women,echoed that her time onMidsommarwas draining. The film also starred Will Poulter, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper and Vilhelm Blomgren.

“I’d never played someone that was in that much pain before, and I’d put myself in really s— situations that maybe other actors don’t need to do,” she said on theOff Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acasterpodcast at the time.

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Florence Pugh in “Midsommar” (2019).A24

A24

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We Live in Timeis now available on demand.Midsommaris currently streaming on Max.

source: people.com