How Hollywood almost rejected Florence Pugh
It’s only been a decade since Florence Pugh made her film debut, but it’s already difficult to imagine Hollywood without her. Since taking her first steps into the industry, Pugh has starred in mammoth blockbusters like Black Widow and Dune: Part Two, worked with A24 favourites Greta Gerwig and Ari Aster, and even lent her voice to a Studio Ghibli picture.
Her most recent endeavour is perhaps her most impressive, though, as Pugh took on the role of Jean Tatlock in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Working with some superstar names seeking to tell a huge story, Pugh delivered a performance that proved her rightful place amongst them. But long before she landed a role under the direction of Nolan, there was a time when Hollywood almost rejected her.
In 2015, Pugh landed a role in a failed sitcom called Studio City, an apparent big break that actually served as an eye-opener to the industry she was entering. As she recalled during a conversation with The Telegraph, immediate criticism followed her casting, as studio executives encouraged her to change her appearance.
“All the things that they were trying to change about me – whether it was my weight, my look, the shape of my face, the shape of my eyebrows – that was so not what I wanted to do, or the industry I wanted to work in,” Pugh recalled. The actor would have been just 19 at the time, taking her first steps into the wider industry beyond smaller projects in her home country, and was immediately subjected to disapproval for her looks.
This proved to be a shock to the system for Pugh, who found the experience to differ hugely from her previous work. It was so upsetting that it even caused her to question her decision to pursue acting, as she explained, “I thought the film business would be like [my experience of making] The Falling, but actually, this was what the top of the game looked like, and I felt I’d made a massive mistake.”
The show wasn’t picked up, and fortunately, Pugh didn’t listen to her doubts about her career of choice. Just a year later, she landed her role in Lady Macbeth and began to forge her way in the industry. Hollywood may have tried to reject Pugh for her appearance, but fortunately, she, in turn, rejected the changes they attempted to force upon her.
Remaining true to herself and refusing to change her appearance seems to have worked out for her, as she now has one of the most impressive filmographies around.
Revisit her performance in the award-sweeping Oppenheimer below.
