Florence Pugh Names 1 Horror Movie Role That Made Her ‘Sad’ & ‘Depressed’

Florence Pugh reflected on a past role that had a lasting emotional impact during a recent interview. The actress said one of her early horror roles left her “sad” and “depressed” for months after filming. She explained that fully immersing herself in the character affected her long after filming ended.

Florence Pugh talks about filming Midsommar

Florence Pugh recently opened up about the emotional toll of filming Midsommar, saying, “It really f—– me up.” During an appearance on The Louis Theroux Podcast, she explained that embodying her grief-stricken character, Dani, led to six months of depression. “I just can’t exhaust myself like that because it has a knock-on effect,” Pugh said. “I think [Midsommar] made me sad for like six months after and I didn’t know why I was depressed.”

The actress revealed she realized the extent of her emotional exhaustion only after moving on to Little Women. “When I got home for Christmas, I was so depressed and I was like, ‘Oh, I think that’s from Midsommar,’ and I didn’t deal with it,” she shared. Pugh described going to intense mental places to portray Dani’s grief, saying, “At the beginning, I just imagined hearing the news that one of my siblings had died… towards the end of the shoot, I actually was going to my whole family’s funeral.”

Pugh also admitted she “really put myself through it” to deliver an authentic performance. “It wasn’t just crying. I needed to sound pained,” she recalled, adding that she had “never done anything like that before” and viewed the film as her opportunity to explore those depths.

Speaking earlier on Reign with Josh Smith on 31 December 2024, Pugh said she had learned to “protect” herself from similar roles, explaining, “I definitely felt like I abused myself in the places that I got myself to go.” Despite the difficulty, she remains proud of her performance, stating, “There’s definitely things that you have to respect about yourself.” Pugh said she now avoids roles that demand such emotional self-destruction, emphasizing, “I don’t do that anymore. It really f—– me up.”