Florence Pugh has said her appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe “really p***ed” off those in the independent film world for fear she would only appear in blockbusters.
The British star made her Marvel debut in 2021’s Black Widow playing Russian assassin Yelena Belova after starring in notable indie flicks such as Fighting With My Family, Lady Macbeth and Midsommar.
Following her appearance in Black Widow, she went on to reprise Belova in Disney Plus’s Hawkeye miniseries and again in Marvel’s 2024 title Thunderbolts.
While many cinema-goers have enjoyed her transition into the mainstream, the indie world wasn’t as responsive to the move.
She told Time magazine: “So many people in the indie film world were really p***ed off at me. They were like, ‘Great, now she’s gone forever’”.
“And I’m like, no, I’m working as hard as I used to work. I’ve always done back-to-back movies. It’s just people are watching them now. You just have to be a bit more organised with your schedule.”
Since joining the superhero franchise, she’s still maintained a strong presence in independent filmmaking and most recently starred in Zach Braff’s drama A Good Person opposite Morgan Freeman.
A Good Person sees Pugh play a young woman whose life is turned upside down when she is involved in an car crash.
Pugh has a big year ahead of her: she plays a leading role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which is set for a summer release, and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, which will be released in autumn.
Earlier this month, Pugh debuted a fresh new buzzcut as she arrived for her first Met Gala appearance.
The British actor said she had been keeping the look a secret “for about three weeks” ahead of its grand reveal on one of the biggest nights in the fashion calendar.
She said she had undergone her transformation for upcoming film We Live In Time, in which she stars with Andrew Garfield, and that it had felt “unbelievable”.
“It was required for the job that I happily wanted to do and I thought what is the best way to release it to the world than at the Met,” she told US outlets on the event’s carpet.
“I’ve been keeping it under wraps for about three weeks now.”
She added: “I’m very happy to have it here with this look, it makes everything perfect.”
