Florence Pugh has spoken candidly about the profound emotional difficulties she faced after filming Midsommar, revealing that embodying the role had far-reaching effects on her wellbeing and left her feeling deeply unsettled for months. The Florence Pugh Midsommar emotional impact became clear as she discussed how immersion in her character Dani’s grief carried over into her personal life, shaping how she approaches acting roles today.
Pugh Reflects on the Psychological Toll of Midsommar
During a recent conversation, Florence Pugh described how her experience filming the horror film Midsommar left her feeling lost for an extended period, acknowledging that she underestimated the emotional cost at the time. Her portrayal of Dani—a woman devastated by family tragedy—required an unusual level of intensity and vulnerability, pushing Pugh into unfamiliar emotional depths.
Appearing on The Louis Theroux Podcast, she spoke frankly about how the demanding production process strained her mental health:
“I just can’t exhaust myself like that because it has a knock-on effect,”
Florence Pugh said. She also commented,
“I think [Midsommar] made me sad for like six months after and I didn’t know why I was depressed.”
The Role’s Lingering Effects and Realization of Emotional Fatigue
It was only once she transitioned to her next project, Little Women, that Florence Pugh recognized the extent of her fatigue. As she recollected,
“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. Preparing for the role involved conjuring intense emotional pain to effectively convey Dani’s grief, even imagining painful personal losses to bring authenticity to her performance. Sharing insight into her process, Pugh explained,
“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.”
The dedication she brought to the role came at a personal cost, with Pugh saying,
“It wasn’t just crying. I needed to sound pained,”
as she reflected on the lengths she went to prepare for and deliver the performance. She also noted,
“never done anything like that before,”
viewing the film as a groundbreaking opportunity to test her emotional capacity.
Learning to Protect Herself from Intense Roles
Speaking with Josh Smith on the Reign podcast, Florence Pugh talked about her changed outlook towards emotionally demanding work, recognizing the internal danger of diving too deeply into harrowing material.
“I definitely felt like I abused myself in the places that I got myself to go,”
she admitted, referencing the emotional burden she carried after Midsommar. Despite the challenges, she has come to respect her limits as a performer, saying,
“There’s definitely things that you have to respect about yourself.”
Today, Pugh avoids taking on parts that could lead to similar emotional turmoil, emphasizing the need for self-care in her craft:
“I don’t do that anymore. It really f—– me up.”
The impact of Midsommar continues to influence Florence Pugh’s career decisions, shaping her outlook on selecting future roles and highlighting the mental and emotional complexities actors often face in their work.
