Florence Pugh says her body 'went into a bit of trauma' after shaving her head for movie role

Florence Pugh soon after her hair was shaved off at The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty' at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

British actress Florence Pugh has revealed that shaving her head for her latest movie role was a “really bizarre” experience that sent her body “into a bit of trauma.”

The 28-year-old had to lose her hair for “We Live in Time,” a tear-jerking romance in which she stars alongside fellow British actor Andrew Garfield.

The movie follows the couple over a decade of their relationship, which changes forever after a medical diagnosis.

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In an interview with British Vogue published Wednesday, Pugh revealed that the dramatic haircut triggered both a physical and emotional response.

“In many religions, hair is the most precious thing on the body – it's where you store your memories and your dreams and your history. (Shaving) it was really bizarre,” said Pugh, whose previous credits include “Oppenheimer,” “Dune: Part Two” and “Little Women.”

“My head was so sensitive and so many people were trying to touch it and it was so alive. My body went into a bit of trauma from it. I was cold all the time,” said Pugh, whose character Almut is a figure skater-turned-chef.

Co-star Garfield was the one to shave her head for the movie. He told the magazine that “it was a privilege to be given that job,” although he was nervous.

He said: “What if I somehow destroyed the head of one of the best actors of her generation? It was terrifying, but ultimately it was a very beautiful, intimate scene to shoot and thank God she has such a nicely shaped melon.”

Pugh said that the role came at the right time in her career.

“I was going through so many (aesthetic) iterations when I was also going through life decisions,” she said. “I was like, 'Cool, well I don't look like me. I'm changed. I'm changing.' Looking back on that summer, I was growing into a new thing.”

Pugh went on to reveal that she is in a new relationship, though she stopped short of naming her new love.

She said: “We are figuring what we actually are. And I think for the first time, I'm not allowing myself to go on a roller-coaster. I'm allowing myself to take time to let something evolve and let it be completely real to its core, as opposed to racing into that.”

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Pugh previously dated actor Zach Braff, with their 21-year age gap attracting attention. Pugh eventually hit back at the criticism in an interview she gave to the Sunday Times in 2021, saying: “It's my life and I'm not doing anything to please people or to make it a better headline or story.”

When asked about that relationship, she told Vogue: “Mine and Zach's relationship was actually quite private until it was nasty, and I could see the toll that it was taking on him and us and our families. And that's when I spoke out. I think for anyone I'm with, I want to protect them.

“It's not nice knowing that people are saying the worst things I've ever read about someone that I love. So that was necessary. I needed to talk about it. I think any relationship in this limelight is going to be stressed.”