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Florence Pugh's Midsommar Struggle: 6 Months of Depression After Filming

Florence Pugh recently opened up about the emotional toll of filming Midsommar. She revealed that the intense role left her depressed for six months afterward. The actress explained she had to deeply immerse herself in her character's grief and trauma. Pugh now says she won't take on such emotionally draining roles again.

Key Points: Florence Pugh Reveals Midsommar Caused Six Months of Depression

  • Pugh suffered six months of depression after filming the horror classic Midsommar
  • She immediately filmed Little Women after Midsommar wrapped production
  • The actress had to imagine her family's funeral to access character's grief
  • Pugh broke down in tears during the transition between film sets
2 min read

Florence Pugh suffered 6 months of depression after 'Midsommar'

Florence Pugh opens up about suffering depression for six months after filming Midsommar, explaining how the intense role affected her mental health.

"I just can't exhaust myself like that because it has a knock-on effect - Florence Pugh"

Los Angeles, Nov 12

Hollywood actress Florence Pugh had a tough time filming for her horror classic 'Midsommar'. The actress has shared that she suffered for 6 months from depression after completing the film.

The actress has been honest about not planning to do roles like 'Midsommar' again because she abused her mental health in order to play the character (in this case it was Dani, a grief-stricken American woman who has a psychological breakdown when she joins her toxic boyfriend on a trip), reports 'Variety'.

She appeared on 'The Louis Theroux Podcast', and revealed the emotional exhaustion of filming 'Midsommar' led to six months of depression.

She said, "I just can't exhaust myself like that because it has a knock-on effect. I think ('Midsommar') made me sad for like six months after and I didn't know why I was depressed. I got back after shooting 'Little Women', which was such a fun experience and obviously a completely different tone from 'Midsommar'. So I think shelved all of that. And then 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 and I probably shouldn't do that again".

As per 'Variety', 'Midsommar' was 'Hereditary' filmmaker Ari Aster's second feature directorial effort. The movie required Pugh to play a character "in such a horrible state in her life", the actress explained, and Pugh responded by diving head first into Dani's emotional breakdown.

"I had never seen that level of grief or mental health in the way that was being asked of me on the page. So for that, I really put myself through it. At the beginning, I just imagined hearing the news that one of my siblings had died, and then towards the middle of the shoot it was like, 'Oh no, I actually needed to imagine the coffins'. And then towards the end of the shoot, I actually was going to my whole family's funeral", she added.

After 'Midsommar' wrapped up, she traveled immediately to the Boston set of Greta Gerwig's 'Little Women'. The Oscar nominee was overcome with emotion during the switch between movies and even broke down in tears on the flight to 'Little Women's' Boston set.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

A
Arjun K
Midsommar was such a disturbing film, I can only imagine what it took to portray that character. Florence is an incredible actress but mental health should always come first. Hope she takes care of herself better now.
S
Sarah B
As someone who's struggled with depression, I really appreciate her openness about this. It shows that even successful people in glamorous jobs face mental health challenges. More power to her! 🌟
R
Rohit P
Honestly, while I admire her dedication, I think production houses should provide better mental health support. Six months of depression is no joke. They need proper counselors on set for such intense roles.
K
Kavya N
Her performance was absolutely brilliant though! But yes, mental health is more important than any role. Hope other actors learn from her experience and set better boundaries. 🙏
M
Michael C
This reminds me of how many Indian actors also talk about the emotional toll of certain roles. It's a universal challenge in the acting profession. Good on her for being honest about it.

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