Florence Pugh says she was pushed to alter her face for role in sitcom that never got picked up
The Wonder star is all too familiar with Hollywood trying to change her appearance
Aux News Pugh
Florence Pugh has one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood—her theatrical pout brought vivid character to Midsommar’s Dani and Little Women’s Amy especially. But as a female actor in the spotlight, Pugh has still faced pressure to change her look to fit an inane beauty standard.
In a new interview with The Telegraph, Pugh shares that she had a memorably negative experience early on in her career, working on a pilot for the never-aired Fox series Studio City. After enjoying working with Maisie Williams on the British series The Falling, Pugh said her expectations weren’t even close to being met.
“I’d thought the film business would be like [my experience with] The Falling, but actually, this was what the top of the game looked like, and I felt I’d made a massive mistake,” Pugh shares.
She continues: “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 — that was so not what I wanted to do, or the industry I wanted to work in.”
When the pilot for Studio City didn’t get picked up, Pugh returned to her home in London, all but certain her acting career was kaput. But just two weeks later, Pugh was cast as the lead in 2016's Lady Macbeth, a role that would usher in her big break. Pugh says the film “made me fall back in love with cinema, the kind of cinema that was a space where you could be opinionated and loud.”
“I’ve stuck by that,” Pugh continues. “I think it’s far too easy for people in this industry to push you left and right. And I was lucky enough to discover when I was 19 what kind of a performer I wanted to be.”
147 Comments
Next you’ll tell me that they wanted her to wear makeup and hired some ‘wardrobe stylist’ to tell her how to dress!
“Because women in the 1950’s didn’t wear nose rings!”
Sometimes, Audrey Hepburn would wear two.
…but not in her nose!
True, but on places the camera didn’t see that only she knew…
What? Like on the bus?
It’s almost like people going into Hollywood really don’t understand how much make-believe and presenting a character is involved in ACTING. TV is a visual medium – of course you were required to change your appearance.
You don’t think perchance men aren’t asked to change their appearance at the same rate, or anything?
Of course. Which is why I’m always shocked when people become actors in seedy ass Hollywood and expect to be treated like human beings.
Victim-blaming is cool
There’s no “victim” in this story
Oh so now she’s somehow a victim?I call bullshit.
“Victim?”
It depends. Theres makeup, costumes, etc, sure. But i feel like the thing shes complaining about was something like they said “get botox or plastic surgery and lose 50 lbs.” When she was already young,pretty, and thin.
Then she should say that. Holding back experiences of harassment, abuse, exploitation or otherwise doesn’t help her and it doesn’t help anyone in the industry experiencing the same thing.
I mean there’s a difference between that and expensive cosmetic surgery that stays with you your whole life but whatevs
Right but she doesn’t say anything about cosmetic surgery.
laser hair removal?
All my lasers are hairless. I built them in Brazil.Also, would Kylo Ren’s lightsaber be considered a laser heir remover?
Not a very subtle one.
She also doesn’t say anything about wardrobe or makeup, yet you felt compelled to bring those up! Cool.
Yep, I was making a sarcastic comment and I brought them up, you’re right! It was pretty cool, thank you for noticing!
If only it was funny!
Okay, but what were the specific changes she was being asked to make? Because if they were just weird beauty standard kinks of whatever dudebro was making those decisions that’s nonsense. It’s not like she’s saying “I auditioned for The Elephant Man but I wouldn’t wear prosthetics.” Don’t be daft.
The shape of her face?
That’s not what she’s talking about and you and the other jags in this thread know it. She’s conventionally attractive and obviously perfectly willing to wear makeup.
I am not a jaguar, thank you very much.And no, I have no damn clue what she’s talking about because she is so vague about it.
As long as you pronounce it “jag-yoo-arh” then I’ll agree.
And it all led to her getting to work with Olivia Wilde! Kind of an inspiring true story really
Well, it’s true. I’ll give you that.
God Damnit. It’s going to be another article about Don’t Worry Darling for days isn’t it?
shh .. they dont talk about her any more , its all about some torture porn clown film now
Film and television are visual mediums. Actors are chosen in large part because they fit the look the creators envision for their characters. Demanding an actor fit the look they’re auditioning for is not oppression.Sorry but in a society that is actively trying to take away women’s bodily autonomy I can’t be bothered to get too upset about a drop dead gorgeous rich and famous celebrity wearing designer clothes with professional makeup and a personal trainer whose every single public image is heavily photoshopped complaining about ‘unfair beauty standards’.
Sorry, but in a world where people are dying of starvation, I can’t be bothered to get too upset about a society that is actively trying to take away women’s bodily autonomy.No, wait, that’s wrong. It turns out I can get actually care about more than one thing at once. Never mind everyone, I’m worried about a whole lot of things, each one more or less commensurate with the scale of their harmful impact.
You can say you care. But you only have so many hours in the day to DO anything about it. But are we pretending that life doesn’t have priorities and limited bandwidth now?
Why worry at all that an actor reacted badly to suggestions she change her appearance for a role? It literally doesn’t matter at all. Any attempt to connect that to larger issues is doomed to be facile, vapid and an unpaid exercise in PR for the aforementioned actor.
Film and television are visual mediums. YOU’RE KIDDING
.
In a society that is actively trying to take away women’s bodily autonomy you can’t be bothered by stories of women being forced to change their bodies?
Tell you fucking HATE women without telling me you’re a sad misogynist.
Then maybe don’t read articles on the AV Club website, which is primarily concerned with film and television news and gossip. I think you probably want its sister site Jezebel, which IS focused on issues like women’s bodily autonomy.
Christian Bale has gained and lost hundreds of pounds for different parts. Actors wear costumes, prosthetics, makeup, etc. to make themselves look different. Why? Because that’s what the project called for. If she doesn’t fit the character she is supposed to be playing, either she needs to change her appearance or she needs to find a different role. She isn’t owed anything simply for existing. This is in no way shape or form the abuse she’s claiming. And frankly, I’m tired of celebrities telling us how hard they have it from their out-of-touch dream worlds that don’t reflect the rest of our ACTUAL struggles. If saying so offends you so, perhaps you should skip reading my comments? I’ll visit any website I please, thanks.
“don’t reflect the rest of our ACTUAL struggles”I’m not immune to the call of the class warrior, but in this case I think you’re being silly and indulging in labor valuation nonsense. So because her job is not gutting fish and her salary seems out of line with the demands of her work we should just disregard her complaints about unfair beauty standards or unreasonable demands of people in management? She can’t possibly understand your plight? Come on.“Why? Because that’s what the project called for.” You have no idea WHAT the project called for so let’s not pretend she “doesn’t fit the character she is supposed to be playing”. If we take her at her word, look at the roles she’s had since then, and use the basic context that it was a sitcom set in California, what demands would they have made that she disliked? I doubt it was “costumes, prosthetics, makeup, etc.”And FWIW, I don’t understand how you can talk about the importance of women’s bodily autonomy and not see how Pugh *not wanting to change her body* doesn’t apply. Sorry that she didn’t make a public statement about abortion rights in her comments about a failed sitcom I guess?
We should disregard her dumbass take on unfair beauty standards because she’s literally in the business of perpetuating them. She is a participant, not a victim.
So by that logic I can’t be a victim of capitalism because I have a job and buy things.You CAN be a victim of a system in which you participate.
Huh, alter her face? So we talkin’ about plastic surgery, breaking her nose, or wrapping her face with saran wrap? Her face could be more trapezoid.
I think the implication is that her face is “too fat”. Her head is certainly rounder than most Hollywood stars with her body type.
Since we are all just speculating, I am going to guess the eyebrows. Hers are thicker. That is in now actually, but some guy could have been put off and want her to be more his idea of feminine.
I like thick eyebrows much better then the opposite which make you look like a drag queen. I tried thin eyebrows before not a good look on me.
Star Trek did it too!
“Florence Pugh has one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood—..”Really, I’m sorry but…. from a distance Ms. Pugh looks like a thousand other white women. In sweat pants and a messy bun she would be unrecognizable in a group of same. In the header pic she looks like a younger Stefani Germanotta.
She’s pretty recognizable and definitely ubiquitous, just maybe not distinctive. She’s no Buscemi.
I mean, she’s “recognizable” in the sense that she’s a unique individual and I can say “ah, yes, that set of features corresponds with Florence Pugh’s,” but “one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood” implies something different.
She’s not even funny looking in a general kind of way!
Florence Pugh is the female Leonard DiCarprio.
Haha now you can’t unsee it!
would still hit it.
She’s cute. And she was the best part about “Black Widow”, and the “Hawkeye” series.
Domestic abuse isn’t funny
Fortunately, not your decision.
Bet you Zach Braff says the same thing.
I can’t unsee something I don’t even see.
Yeah, what?? There’s not a single common feature.
DiCaprio is entirely his own category. I have yet to see one single male celebrity (or ‘real’ person even) look like a gorgeous young starlet one year and then an aging, self-indulgent model chaser the next. I look at that pic and see no trace of the beautiful youth from Titanic. It’s almost as though the kid was replaced by an impostor, or that he sold his soul or something…..
I think Leo is as gorgeous as he ever was (going strictly by looks and ignoring his problematic behaviors for the sake of this conversation). I don’t think it’s fair to hold a nearly 50 year old of any gender to a standard of maintaining their “beautiful youth.” Holding “aging” against him seems as unfair as his only dating kids. I think it’s time we all start embracing the idea of “beautiful maturity.”
No, I’m not being unfair. I’m pointing out how drastically some people can change when becoming an adult. I have literally never seen anyone who does not remotely resemble their younger self the way this guy doesn’t. That was my point, but – sure – people are going to focus on the use of “beautiful” as though I’m trying to be ‘problematic’. My observation wasn’t that deep.
That’s the thing, though. There’s nothing “drastic” about it. He didn’t “drastically change when becoming an adult.” He didn’t look as he did in Titanic when he was 17 and then look as he does now when he was 18. Since filming Titanic, he has aged over 25 years. That’s gonna be more than a quarter of his entire lifespan. He absolutely resembles his younger self. His face is just less smooth, he’s gained weight, his hair is less lush, etc., all of which happens for pretty much everyone over the course of 25 years if they’re not getting loads of plastic surgery and botox. And you specifically attached his beauty to his youth. I don’t know what was or wasn’t “that deep.” I just know what words you chose to use.
They attempted to replace him with his faulty clone, Dane DeHaan
Why would I want to. I’d happily go out to dinner with either of those hotties
No.
I think I’m only seeing your subjective reality because honestly there’s absolutely nothing here for me.
She looks like Scar Jo in that picture.
I mean, that’s obviously Miley Cyrus.
I don’t see it…
But she has a theatrical pout, apparently! It brought “vivid character” to Midsommar’s Dani and Little Women’s Amy especially, apparently! These definitely aren’t just semantically empty things an amateur writer would blurt out to fill digital column inches!
Damn, it’s that serious?
Must we really use the term “amateur writer” for someone who has been professionally writing and editing since 2019 at least? I get that it’s fun to dunk on these site writers but it also strikes me as awfully petty and kinda pointlessly mean.
Fair enough. How about “bad writer,” then?
Still pointlessly mean but at least not insulting to the resume.Maybe that seems like a weird distinction but the class warrior in me just wants people to get credit for their job experience regardless of critiques of their “talent”.
AV Club is clearly trolling us with a photo of Scarlett Johansson.
They were both in “Black Widow”, I had no problem telling them apart. One had red hair, one had blonde hair. Plus different accents.
Seriously. I couldn’t pick her out of a lineup. For the past months I’ve heard all this talk about the “feud” between Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde, and every time in my head I’ve been like “who the fuck is Florence Pugh,” but I never cared enough to look it up. And I’m sure I’ve seen a pic or two of her on one of the many articles but I legit have scrolled down from the header image and can barely conjure her face in my mind.That said, I don’t claim to have my finger on the pulse of what and who are cool to know nowadays, so maybe I’m just old.
Id recognize her anywhere because she played a character i really liked in an otherwise mediocre movie, and a series. Otherwise, i dont know.
I keep meaning to check out Hawkeye so thanks for the reminder.
She’s already put together a very impressive body of work, I’d suggest that not knowing her was more down to you than any perceived genericity to her looks.
I wasn’t suggesting that there was anything wrong with her looks, certainly. She’s as pretty as anyone in Hollywood. It was just a weird comment, “most recognizable.” What does that even mean? I’m 42 which I like to joke is old because I feel old, but if I don’t know her because I’m old as hell that’s like over half of the country who doesn’t know her too. So it’s strange to call someone one of the most recognizable faces if only 20 and 30 year olds recognize her (though of course that’s probably not truly the case exactly).Though with all the coverage the Don’t Worry Darling stuff has been getting I wouldn’t be surprised if more people know what she looks like. Just not me.
Your opinion is irrelevant.
What does that even mean? “From a distance,” anyone of any race looks like “a thousand” of anyone else and is unrecognizable by that standard. And you think she looks like Lady Gaga? The fuck? She doesn’t look anything like her.
Why would she put a messy bun in her sweatpants? Oatmeal I understand.
It’s a Hollywood thing.
Ya gotta love it when they just copy-paste the whole media release their agent sent them.
she looks like a lot of costco cashiers
She’s gorgeous and very recognizable. Maybe you’re projecting as a commenter who just blends into the muck?
As far as I know, the only thing I’ve seen her in was Little Women, and I could barely tell her apart from one of the other sisters.
Florence Pugh is what Hayden Panettiere changed her name to when she went in to witness protection, right?
Chloë Florence Moretz Panettiere
lol
Cuoco
I get what you’re saying, but “from a distance” how many people are distinct enough to make your point?
Also her sister Natasha abandoned her and then died saving the world!
Well, Natty-natty-pugh-pugh to her!
She was much better off leaving that nasty Boris character and striking out on her own so mush so, I hear she finally whacked moose and squirrel in Peoria.
Frostbite Falls, surely.
Wow, in the annals of “TV shows based on a geographic region of Los Angeles”, has there ever been a more pointless and boring choice than “Studio City”?? Gotta see that pilot!!
At least ‘City of Industry’ sounds a little threatening.
And was already a movie with Harvey Keitel! Personally, I’m waiting for an epic series set in the fantasy realm of the Inland Empire.
Well, yes, that’s why I referenced it.
It was a movie and not a TV show, but the coolest place name in California is represented in media:
Still waiting on “Van Nuys.”
“CSI: Oxnard” looks promising..
I wonder if the most memorable line of the pilot was “Welcome to the S.C. bitch!”?
There…see him?
Pffftttttt! She could’ve said no.
At the AV Club, any Pughs is good Pughs.
Don’t worry darling, this will not be a pun thread.
Don’t get too Wilde with your pun Styles.
I like yer stiles, kid!
Pine-ing for the days when this place was still a quality website!
Pushed to the altar? That’s way out of line.
Thanks for this extremely vague nonsense article. The headline is that she was “pushed to alter her face,” and all we get in the article is a nonspecific claim about “my weight, my look, the shape of my face, the shape of my eyebrows.” What was she pushed to “alter” and to what extent? Was it the “shape of her face” as in they literally asked her to have plastic surgery to have her chin shaved down to more of a point, or did they just want her to grow her eyebrows out a bit more and do some contouring? WTF is this article actually about and what was the point of it?
It was all about the clicks! She was pushed to generate more clicks for The AV Club!
I was thinking the exact same thing. “Whoa, they made her get surgery? Like that chick who was in Bridget Jones and Jerry Maguire??” Nah fam, they just made her cut her hair and change her eyebrows… because acting? ¯\_ツ)_/¯ It would suck to be told that you’re too ____ or not enough ____ but also maybe acting in someone else’s production means you have to be open to other people’s ideas of what that character, who is distinguishable from you, should look like- kinda like the time when Christian Bale lost all that weight and looked like a walking skeleton for a role.
Yeah I get that the standards for women in Hollywood are ridiculous, but AVClub could have presented this in a much less click-baity way. Maybe just said “Florence Pugh discusses beauty standards in Hollywood.” I get that that’s more boring of a headline, but at least it’s honest.
Yes, I am sure the pilot for Fox series Studio City had super important artistic reasons for Pugh to lose weight, so something with her eyebrows, and to change the “shape of her face.”
I think it’s about how women are often asked to change their appearance in Hollywood, presumably to meet conventional beauty standards.
I think that’s what it wants us to think it’s about.
I guess I’m not sure what exactly your problem with the article is. The headline says she was pushed to alter her face. Then, in a section you specifically quote (weirdly), she specifies some of the things she was asked to alter (eyebrows, the shape of her face, her weight). And now you admit to, at the very least, understanding what point the article was getting at. So your claim not to understand what specifically Pugh was asked to alter (she says, although you pretend she’s not specific enough for you to understand what she’s talking about), or not to understand what the point of the article was, is undermined by your very posts where you either point specifically to the thing in the article that answers your question, or admit to understanding the very thing you claim to have been confused about.
First of all, “alter her face” could mean a of different things, as could changing “the shape of my face.” Again, did they want a MUA to do different contouring to make her face look different, or did they literally want her to start shaving pieces of her face off? My complaint was that it was vague, nonspecific, and didn’t provide what the headline promises.But at the end of the day, if you feel you understand exactly what went on and think that it is in keeping with the headline, I can live with that. I don’t feel the same way, and you’re going to have to live with that. You and I are just going to have to live with you not “getting” exactly what my problem is. I’m okay with you not getting it. I hope you one day can be too.Also, I never claimed to be “confused.” Not knowing a particular piece of information isn’t the same thing as being confused. Have a good day. Next time I’ll let you stay in the grays.
Alter her face could mean a lot of different things, and she specifies some of those things. I think probably Pugh, who has spent her entire adult life in show business, understands the role that makeup and makeup artists, which presumably existed on The Falling, play. So I would be surprised if she is talking about ordinary makeup stuff. Beyond that, I don’t see any reason for her to have been asked to change much about her face at all. Her weight? Her eyebrows? That seems pretty specific and absurd, no?I guess I got you being confused from you asking “WTF is this article actually about and what is the point?,” a pretty well understood expression of confusion. Do whatever you want. If it makes your little dick hard to lord your status as an approved commenter on this cesspool of parasocial misogynistic dork, knock yourself out bro.
I have a question, and despite my past record, this is very much not trying to be sarcastic.Am I alone in noticing that there seem to be a rash of “stories” lately – not just from AVC – that follow this basic narrative: “Successful Celebrity was once made to feel bad/uncomfortable/inadequate. Yet another example of {pick your -ism}. Anyways, that was one or two lines in an interview, everything worked out, and they’re successful now!”?What I’m asking is, other than briefly painting a rando Hollywood exec or bit player in a negative light years after the fact, is this newsworthy?
They definitely push a perpetual victimhood narrative here.
I’ll tell you what: You define for us what “newsworthy” means. Then I’ll tell you if I think this article meets your standard.
That was my question: is this newsworthy? Many of the articles here are about a one-time transgression years ago that made the subject feel bad for a moment, and I’m asking why is that? It doesn’t seem to be about building a case against a person or group currently in the doghouse, or some major crime that’s just coming to light, or promoting a new project; rather, it just seems to be cutting and pasting a paragraph from some other publication and calling it news.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/newsworthy“interesting enough to the general public to warrant reporting”Given this definition, the question becomes “How much attention/how many clicks did this draw?”Enough to justify posting it? That’s a matter for some analytics person. I assume that the site editor gave it the go ahead, so there seems to have been an assumption of worthiness.Of course, there’s also the question of whether or not AV Club is a news organization with an obligation to the general public. Alex Jones claims to be a journalist when it suits him. Does that actually make him a journalist?(My take? No, this isn’t “newsworthy” in the sense that you mean it. But I also think your question is a facade for a bad faith criticism because this site, in EVERY incarnation, has been an equal mix of news and puffery. Don’t couch your complaint in faux intellectual curiosity. Just SAY what you mean, which is “This article is unworthy of the site.” And understand that you’re wrong because it’s entirely consistent with the site.)
Mrs. F. had to correct me that this is not the Florence from “Florence + the Machine.” Or from the Progressive commercials. Or the one that wants everyone to kiss her grits.
To be fair, I don’t think anyone has asked Ms. Pugh about her grits.
Man, this article triggered a lot of insecure dudes.
-The AV Club
White women got it rough man.
So she didnt alter her face tho? Next.
In all fairness, it was the lead in the A.L.F. remake.
“Hey, A.L.F., when’d you get the bitchin’ nose ring?”
Still, I’d kinda like to see Florence Pugh in a sitcom…
How I Met The Modern Goldberg’s (wait, she’s not Jewish…she’ll have to be the sassy goy neighbor)
8 Simple Rules For Big Banging . . . no, nevermind . . .
Go With The Flo . . . I’m just spit-balling now.
That Reboot Show
The FILM (not series AV Club) was excellent and Pugh was 18 I think. This story is about the way a young actress is taken and a studio tries to mould. The scoffing in the replies miss that so many actresses are told to lose weight. How often to male actors get asked to do that? Google Florence Pugh, The Falling. She wasn’t fat but the Hollywood ideal is anorexic thin! Good thing that lame sounding sitcom didn’t happen…
Florence Pugh has one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood Really? Cos from a distance , I though that title picture was of Jennifer Lawrence.