Florence Pugh at the 79th Venice International Film Festival - "Don't Worry Darling" Red Carpet

Florence Pugh Reveals She Was Told To Lose Weight By Film Bosses Early In Her Career

Home / Stars / Florence Pugh Reveals She Was Told To Lose Weight By Film Bosses Early In Her Career

By Favour Adegoke on November 1, 2022 at 12:00 PM PDT
Updated on November 2, 2022 at 10:02 AM PDT

"Don't Worry Darling" star, Florence Pugh is quickly climbing up the ladder in the film industry with her stellar performances in recent movies. While she loves being an actress, she recently opened up about the challenges she faced in the early days of her career.

Pugh revealed that some producers wanted her to change her "look" after her first major role in the 2014 film "The Falling." They required the actress to lose weight in several parts of her body, which made her extremely uncomfortable.

Push said she even began regretting her career choice and began to dislike acting. However, a particular role reignited her flame. The star will also star in highly anticipated films like" The Wonder," "Oppenheimer" and "Dune: Part Two."

Keep reading to find out more.

Article continues below advertisement

Florence Pugh Recalls The Crude Experience

Florence Pugh at The 92nd Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals in Los Angeles
MEGA

The "Little Women" star recounted her early days as an actress to The Telegraph. She recalled that she was 19 when her acting dream took her to the US. She then auditioned for several shows, including the short-lived pilot "Studio City."

While Pugh was having fun living the dream, the series' executives asked her to change how she looked as part of the requirements. This request made her feel self-conscious about her body as it wasn't "what she wanted to do."

She said, "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. Pugh also recalled that it made her second guess her career path as she wasn't sure that she "wanted to work" as an actress anymore.

Article continues below advertisement

She Started To Dislike Acting

Florence Pugh in sheer Valentino dress
Instagram/Florence Pugh

While the 26-year-old had a passion for acting, it surprised her to find out that it wasn't what she thought. After her role in "The Falling," she revealed that her experience in the film industry was more mentally draining than she expected, which made her believe that becoming an actress was a huge mistake. She also blamed herself for choosing that career path.

Pugh said per The Telegraph, "I'd 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." However, the star only took a short break from acting and returned to her home in the United Kingdom.

Article continues below advertisement

Florence Pugh Fell In Love With Acting Again

The "Fighting With My Family" actress revealed that her role in "Lady Macbeth" reignited the flame for acting in her. She noted that the production team accepted her for who she was and that she felt confident while filming the movie.

"That made me fall back in love with cinema," she said of the William Oldroyd film. Pugh also revealed that she could express herself without judgment, setting the standard for her future roles. "The kind of cinema that was a space where you could be opinionated and loud, and I've stuck by that," she said.

Article continues below advertisement

Pugh's career skyrocketed after her performance in the movie. The actress starred in several top films like "Midsommar," "Little Women," and "Black Widow." She recently played Alice alongside Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, and Chris Pine in the horror/thriller film "Don't Worry Darling," which premiered last month.

Article continues below advertisement

What Is Florence Pugh Currently Up To?

Pugh is set to throw her love for acting into her future projects, including the Netflix mystery "The Wonder." The film premieres on the streaming site on November 16th, 2022. It's based on a 2016 novel with the same title and follows Pugh's character, Nurse Lib Wright, who travels to a rural Ireland village in the 19th century.

There, Wright becomes determined to find the mystery behind a little girl's survival after going months without eating anything. The star's other future projects include her role in the upcoming Christopher Nolan film, "Oppenheimer," alongside Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt. She will also play Princess Irulan in the 2023 film "Dune: Part Two."

Article continues below advertisement