Florence Pugh recalled a male co-star stepping in to stop a director from emotionally draining her. Pugh is known for her raw, emotionally intense performances across dramatic, psychological, and horror cinema. However, portraying such characters with vulnerable or traumatic sequences requires a heavy psychological weight and  emotional energy. And sometimes, as the actress recently shared, that burden can become too much to bear when those behind the camera fail to show sensitivity toward an actor’s emotional well-being.

Fortunately, Pugh had her male co-star in her corner, who stepped in to support her.

Florence Pugh’s co-star helped her from being pushed too far

Florence Pugh appeared on The Louis Theroux Podcast last year, a clip of which has blown up on the web very recently. In the clip, the actress was seen sharing an incident where she was made to do a crying scene six times. Pugh had to endure the predicament as she did not want to get labelled “difficult. That was when her co-star stepped in. 

“he’s got it. We got it. Don’t put her through that. You’ve got the close-up, you’ve got the wide, don’t do that,” the co-star said. 

“I wouldn’t have been able to have said that because that wouldn’t have been received well,” the Little Women star further added.

Pugh also praised intimacy coordinators for giving female actors greater control and agency. She added that women often find it harder to speak up during filming because they risk being labelled difficult or a “nightmare.”

A year since the interview, Pugh recently laid down her rules for a better working environment. 

Florence Pugh on misogyny on set

Florence Pugh recently opened up about experiencing misogyny and unprofessional behavior on film sets during an interview with Elle. The actress explained that years of experience in the industry have made her more confident about standing up for herself and taking charge of a production. She also made it clear that she no longer has the patience for “messy” working environments or people who treat crew members disrespectfully.

Pugh also spoke about using her platform to call attention to broader issues within the film industry. Her expectations of fellow actors and filmmakers are simple: “Show up on time, don’t be rude, don’t be a misogynist.” Fortunately, she has also had supportive colleagues who understand the importance of those words. 

What do you think about Florence Pugh’s co-star? Let us know in the comments!