All About Florence Pugh, The Actress Who Is About To Be In Everything
She Once Wrestled The Rock
In the biographical film Fighting With My Family, Pugh plays the lead role, Saraya-Jade "Paige" Bevis, a retired WWE wrestler and wrestling personality. In order to portray Paige accurately, she had to train in wrestling.
When preparing to film the famous Monday Night Raw match between Paige and AJ Jee, Pugh got to spar with the executive producer - none other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who plays himself in the movie. Pugh remarks:
I remember stepping in the ring and then suddenly Dwayne stepping in too, and it was like having a god behind me and protecting me. It was amazing. I remember he was teaching me how to make sure that I really sold a punch, and I remember looking around and looking at the Staple Center and looking at all the eyes on him and on me and realizing that this was a definite pinch me moment and how amazing that was.
She Called Out A Critic For Commenting On Her ’Chunky Thighs’
Pugh is not here for any backhanded compliments.
In a primarily positive review of Fighting With My Family, The Evening Standard writer Charlotte O'Sullivan commented on Pugh's "chunky thighs" and how they compared to the real Paige's "significantly slimmer" ones. While O’Sullivan was trying to express a body positive sentiment, Pugh felt it was nonetheless inappropriate to compare the bodies of two different women in a public forum.
Pugh further rebuffed the statement by reminding the reviewer, “people have greater takeaways from the film than ‘the circumference of my hams.’”
She Has Always Been A Drama Queen
Though her career began when she was a teenager, Pugh has been ‘theatrical’ her entire life. Her first performance was the role of Mary in her school’s annual nativity when she was six years old.
Pugh thought it would be more interesting if she put a personal spin on the character, so she gave the holy Mother a strong Yorkshire accent. Pugh remembers “hobbling on to the stage, [and] going ‘Ooh, me varicose veins!’ and everyone [peeing] themselves.”
Even then, Pugh understood a captive audience will listen and respond to everything she says, and her desire to give them a compelling show was very empowering. She still relates to this feeling as a professional actress.
She Refuses To Change Her Appearance For A Role
When Pugh was first contacted for a potentially lucrative television role, she was ecstatic. It was her first time in America, and she flew out to Hollywood to shoot a pilot for a show called Studio City.
It seemed like it was going to be a career-defining moment for Pugh - until she got the role. She quickly realized Hollywood's true nature when they asked her to "be in... be ready" for the series, which was thinly veiled code for "lose weight".
Pugh didn't take the bait, and the pilot was never picked up. Just months later, she auditioned for Lady Macbeth, where she remembers being "applauded for having normal bum cheeks," which suggests sticking to her guns was worthwhile on both a personal and professional level.
She Considers Emma Thompson Her Mentor
When filming King Lear, Pugh was utterly taken by Emma Thompson, who plays the role of her eldest sister, Goneril. Though the relationship between the two sisters is contentious in the original text, Pugh looked up to Thompson and was incredibly grateful for her guidance.
The movie was filmed during the initial fret of the Me Too movement in 2017. At the time, the film industry was chaotic and in need of leadership, so the “loud female wisdom” of a seasoned actress like Thompson was powerful and educational.
She Has Supportive Parents
Pugh has always been close to both her parents. She comes from a large, rambunctious family, which she describes as “like the Von Trapps, but not quite as pretty or perfect.”
Her father is the owner of a chain of restaurants in Oxford, GB, and her mother is a professional dancer. Performance and business come naturally to the Pughs, and this is reflected in the professions of Pugh’s four siblings who are all involved in film, television, or theatre.
Pugh’s acting career began while she was still in school, and her obligations to her education hindered her as an artist. Her school pushed back when she told them she would be shooting The Falling while studying in sixth form, but her parents continued to support her ambitions.
Her Older Brother Appeared On 'Game Of Thrones’
At its core, Game Of Thrones is effectively a British talent showcase. Naturally, the Pugh dynasty is well-represented by Pugh’s older brother, Sebastian Toby M. Pugh, who plays Trystane Martell.
Pugh has always idolized her brother, who began acting when he was 16. He was a helpful mentor as she first learned the breaks of the field. Pugh recalls, “I remember watching him for years so, by the time I stepped up, I kind of knew the harsh reality of how things worked.”
She Is A Musician
On top of acting, convincing fake wrestling, and a lifelong knack for accent imitation, Pugh also identifies as a musician. She is proficient in both the guitar and the piano, and she has also written her own songs.
She has garnered a modest YouTube following, performing under the moniker “Flossie Rose”.
Who knows, maybe it is only a matter of time before she makes her movie-musical debut.
She Tries Not To Watch Herself Act To Avoid Vanity
Pugh’s acting career began early; she appeared in the coming-of-age film The Falling at 17-years-old. The film takes place at an all-girls school, so all of her colleagues were teenagers as well.
As the director of a movie about the perils of teenage girlhood, Carol Morley wanted to impart some important lessons about body image and vanity onto her cast. Pugh recalls, “We weren’t allowed to look at the monitor because we would be acting for vanity... And from then on, I’ve tried to keep that as part of how I work.”
She Doesn't Want To Be Typecast As A Period Actress
While many of her career-defining roles have been period pieces, Pugh is adamantly not just a period actress.
While Pugh has never explicitly sought period work, she enjoys the “complicated, confusing” characters that tend to come along with period dramas, which explains her appearance in three period films within a couple of years.
Ultimately, the projects just came at the right place and time in her career.
Some Think She’s The Next Kate Winslet
When casting The Falling, director Carol Morley selected Pugh due to her humble demeanor reminiscent of a young Kate Winslet.
Since her appearance in Lady Macbeth, Pugh has been widely compared to Winslet, a similar British actress from a previous generation. Winslet also has a reputation for playing “troubled women” in dramatic films, and - like Pugh - is no stranger to period work.
By her own admission, Pugh is a Winslet fan herself:
It’s actually embarrassing now... I really hope she hasn’t ever read any of them. But she is one of the reasons I wanted to act. I re-enacted Titanic over and over again. I love her because she has a normal, beautiful face with creases on her forehead and proper cheeks and everything. I love that her face is how it is in that moment, there’s nothing funny in it. She’s not hiding. She’s just raw.
During Childhood She Struggled With Severe Breathing Problems
Based on her spry, powerful performances in The Little Drummer Girl or The Falling, one might not expect Pugh to have had a sickly childhood.
As a young child, Pugh was frequently hospitalized due to her collapsed airways and severe asthma. Her parents were so desperate for relief they relocated to Spain for three years hoping the warm humidity would improve her condition.
She Will Not Be Disrespected, So She Let A Bar Manager Have It
While out for drinks with fellow up-and-comer Timothée Chalamet, Pugh stirred up a scene after she was disrespected by the owner of the establishment.
She reamed him out, saying “You are making us feel unwelcome... My friends and I have chosen to come here and we want to have a good time.” Pugh had been temporarily residing in the bar's adjoining hotel, and she wanted to ensure her hosts showed her respect..
The next time she went out for a drink, during her interview for The Guardian, her drink arrived just moments after it was ordered. Sometimes, you just have to let ‘em know.
She Is Constantly Relocating
One of the greater ails of success is the transience of glamorous homelessness. After three years of nearly constant projects with no end in sight, it’s been a long time since Pugh has truly been “home” in any meaningful sense.
“Whirlwind doesn’t cut it. I don’t have a home,” she moans, slightly tongue in cheek. She knows this is ultimately a sign of her great fortune, and follows up by saying, “With the life I’ve been lucky enough to live in the last two years, I’ve had to live out of bags.”