Florence Pugh Reveals ‘Midsommar‘ Role Triggered Half-Year Depression
Florence Pugh has disclosed that her emotionally demanding performance in Ari Aster’s 2019 horror film Midsommar led to a six-month period of depression. The actress detailed the toll the role took on her mental health, revealing she became deeply immersed in the psyche of her character, Dani, to a detrimental degree.
Pugh’s experience underscores the frequently enough-hidden emotional costs actors face when inhabiting intensely challenging roles, particularly within the psychological horror genre. The revelation comes as Pugh continues to establish herself as one of the most compelling performers of her generation, and highlights the importance of mental health awareness within the film industry.
Immediately following the completion of Midsummer‘s filming, Pugh transitioned to Greta Gerwig’s Little Women with only three days between projects. While en route to Boston, leaving Budapest where Midsummer was shot, Pugh began to cry, expressing a feeling of abandonment as she left Dani “to figure out how to do the rest of her life.”
“My brain was obviously feeling sympathy for myself, because I’d abused myself and really manipulated my own emotions to get a performance,” Pugh explained. “I just can’t exhaust myself like that because it has a knock-on effect.”
Pugh has previously spoken positively about working with Aster, who also directed Hereditary. In a 2023 New York Times interview, she described him as “peculiar in the mad genius kind of way,” recalling that Aster would conduct therapy sessions with her and co-star Jack Reynor, while they remained in character. ”He would be our therapist and would be asking us questions. I find that stuff quite hard,” she said.
Rolling Stone‘s Peter travers, in a review of Midsommar, hailed Aster as “a bold new voice in psychological horror, the kind that messes ruthlessly with your head,” and praised Pugh’s performance for demonstrating ”wonders in showing us a character who grows in confidence and toxic strength as the film progresses toward Dani’s validating vengeance.”
