Florence Pugh Says She “Can’t Do” Roles Like ‘Midsommar’ Again: “I Definitely Feel Like I Abused Myself”

Florence Pugh gives it all in her performances, and there are some that she “can’t do” due to the intensity.

The Oppenheimer and Don’t Worry Darling star recently reflected on her career and said that to protect herself mental health, she couldn’t do a character like Midsommar again.

“Protecting myself is something I’ve had to learn how to do,” Pugh said during an interview for Reign with Josh Smith. “Like, there’s been some roles, and I’ve given too much, and I’ve been broken for a long time afterwards.”

She continued, “Like when I did Midsommar, I definitely felt like I abused myself in the places that I got myself to go to, which is the nature of figuring these things out is you need to go, ‘All right, well, I can’t do that again, cause that was too much.'”

Pugh starred in the 2019 Ari Aster film alongside Jack Reynor as a couple discovering they were drawn into a violent cult in Sweden.

The role earned Pugh critical acclaim, and although the film was tough, the actress says she’s “really proud” of what she did, adding, “I’m proud of what came out of me. I don’t regret it. But there’s definitely things that you have to respect about yourself, and that’s something that I really admired.”

Earlier in the interview, Pugh said that each of the characters she has played have a little something of her in them.

“I don’t think I’d be able to do this without going all the way and putting myself in all of those characters that I’ve played,” she said. “There’s always a piece of me and there’s always a moment at the end of filming where I, like, protect and defend those characters to the very end, even if they’ve done God awful things. I think that’s only natural when you’re in someone for so long.”

Watch Pugh’s full interview below.