Florence Pugh admits that she took one role too far, personally

One of the best actors working today is Florence Pugh. After getting her first Oscar nomination at the age of 24 for her role in Little Women, many were excited to see what the future held for her. And rightfully so! She’s the best.

Her best work to many is her role as Dani in Midsommar. The Ari Aster film had Florence Pugh’s Dani on a trip with her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor). But for all of Christian’s “support” of Dani, he saw her as a burden and it leads to horrifying twists and turns. Honestly, I still think about Midsommar all the time.

In a new podcast interview though, Pugh said that she maybe went a little too hard with Dani. She told the Reign with Josh Smith podcast, that she “abused” herself while filming the movie. “I definitely felt like I abused myself in the places that I got myself to go,” Pugh said of Dani. She went on to talk about how the role left an impact on her, saying “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.’”

It boils down to the conversation about acting methods and what works for each actor. Pugh clearly learned that what she did with Dani was not something she could do for other roles but it is a fascinating conversation in retrospect. We, as fans, have a love for the film but obviously Pugh’s time with Dani as a character is very different than what we experienced as fans of the Aster film.

Florence Pugh stands by her work in Midsommar

Despite the “abuse” that Pugh put herself through to play Dani, she did say that she is still incredibly proud of the work she put out. Pugh said “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.”

It is a character that does mean a lot to fans. Speaking from my own love of Midsommar, Dani is a character who goes through so much trauma in her life and feels lost. It is a feeling that many of us can relate to and even if we would not end up in Dani’s exact situation, the feeling of loneliness and abandonment that Dani feels is one that is relatable. She feels alone and is in a strange place with no one to support her there. Who hasn’t been there?

I’m glad that Pugh found what works and doesn’t work for her as an actor through a character like Dani and I do wish actors would talk about this more. I love hearing about the process of finding a character and what techniques work for them. And as a Dani defender, it is wonderful to see that Pugh still look fondly back on Midsommar. Now, we can all talk about how she should have also had an Oscar nomination for her work in this movie!