Florence Pugh reveals she suffered depression after filming ‘Midsommar’: ‘I abused myself’

After becoming the unforgettable Queen of May in Midsommar, no one should expect Florence Pugh to repeat similar roles. Quite the contrary, in fact, as the actress has opened up about her starring role as Dani in Ari Aster’s film, revealing that she suffered “six months of depression” after finishing filming.

“I can’t exhaust myself like that because it has negative consequences,” said the actress. “I think Midsommar left me feeling sad for about six months, and I didn’t know why I was depressed. I came back after filming Little Women, which was a really fun experience and obviously had a completely different tone to Midsommar, so I think I put it all behind me. And then when I got home for Christmas, I was so depressed that I thought, ‘Oh, I think it’s because of ‘Midsommar,’ and I didn’t get over it, and I probably shouldn’t do it again.”

In Midsommar, Pugh plays a girl who, after losing her family in a domestic accident, travels with her boyfriend to the Swedish town of Halsingland, where a summer festival is being celebrated. They both hope that Dani will be able to escape her troubles and repair their damaged relationship, but what they experience there is far from idyllic. The actress had to play a girl tormented by various circumstances, which led her to push herself beyond her limits.

“I had never seen that level of pain or mental health reflected in the script,” Pugh continues. “So, to achieve it, I took it very seriously. At first, I just imagined hearing the news that one of my brothers had died, and then, halfway through filming, I thought, ‘Oh no, I actually needed to imagine the coffins. And towards the end of filming, I was actually attending the funeral of my entire family.”

“It wasn’t just about crying. I needed to sound hurt,” she concludes. “I had never done anything like that before, and I thought, ‘Okay, this is my chance. I have to try.’ And I basically put myself through hell. But I don’t do that anymore. It destroyed me.”

In addition, Pugh confirms that any abuse was inflicted by herself, completely exonerating the film’s director, Ari Aster, for whom the actress has nothing but good words.

Where can you watch Midsommar?

Midsommar is currently available on Prime Video, and is a highly recommended film with an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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