Summary
- Florence Pugh's frown is often praised as a sign of great acting, as she brings depth and sorrow to her characters.
- Pugh's iconic frown and lip quiver are not intentional, but involuntary expressions of sadness.
- Pugh's famous crying scene in Midsommar was challenging to film, but her co-stars created a ive environment.
From Midsommar to Little Women to Oppenheimer, Florence Pugh has made a name for herself as a serious A-list actress, but people can't stop talking about her famous frown. A British actress, Pugh made her screen debut opposite Maisie Williams in the 2014 mystery-thriller The Falling, playing Abigail Mortimer. Her breakout role was protagonist Katherine Lester in 2016's Lady Macbeth, and from there, Pugh's movie career blossomed. 2019 was a banner year for Pugh, starring in the crowd-pleasing sports movie Fighting with My Family as Paige Knight, the haunting A24 horror Midsommar as Dani Ardor, and Greta Gerwig's Little Women as Amy March, which earned her an Oscar nomination.
No matter the movie she is in, Pugh's performance is almost always singled out as a highlight, as she brings depth, nuance, and often a haunted sorrow to her characters. She took one of literature's most maligned characters in Amy March, and made her complicated, sympathetic, and soulful. As messy and controversial as it was, Pugh leading the Don't Worry Darling cast made it a watchable, if not confusing movie. Often oscillating between big-budget blockbusters and indie dramas, Pugh's movies, Dune: Part 2, and We Live in Time, are highly anticipated, as Pugh will likely bring her A-game — and her famous frown — to both.
We Live In Time: Florence Pugh's Shaved Head, Cast & Everything We Know
Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield are two of Hollywood's biggest young talents, and they costar in the romance movie, We Live in Time.
Florence Pugh Says Her Frown (& Lip Quiver) Is Involuntary
Florence Pugh gave an interview to BBC Radio 1, and her interviewer commented that whenever she is frowning onscreen, people know that "great acting's on the way." Whether it's in the MCU's Black Widow as Yelena, having a heartfelt interaction with her sister Natasha (Scarlett Johansson), or holding back tears as Amy, telling Laurie (Timothée Chalamet) she's loved him her whole life in Little Women, Pugh brings gravitas and poignance to her scenes, and that frown is often present. It's there throughout Midsommar, as Pugh's Dani deals with the trauma of losing her entire family in a murder-suicide, not to mention the horrific events she witnesses in the Hårga commune.
Since she is such a great actress, many think that her frown and resulting lip tremble are part of her performance, but Pugh confesses that she has no control over her iconic facial expression. Pugh says:
"I don't even mean to do it. It's just genuinely something that my face does when I start feeling sad. I a boyfriend of mine once, when we'd argue or when I'd be sad, I'd be like... my whole mouth would be quivering. And he'd be like 'No, no! Stop! Stop stop stop!'... Like, and I would not be letting myself cry, but my whole bottom mouth would be quivering and dimpling. And... even when I do cry now on camera it still happens."
Pugh Will Always Be Famous For Her Iconic Midsommar Crying Scene
Whether in life or art, whenever Pugh's famous frown appears, it suggests a fervent attempt at holding back her emotions and trying not to cry. But for Dani in the A24 horror movie Midsommar, there was only so much she could take. After being subject to multiple traumas, witnessing her boyfriend sleeping with someone else sent Dani over the edge, which led to the famous crying scene in which she is surrounded by the women of the commune who echo her cries and screams of anguish.
Understandably, this scene was extremely difficult and trying for Pugh to shoot. The star took to Instagram and shared an in-depth post about what filming was like. She stated that she's not a crier, and has often found it hard to cry on-camera, but with the of her co-stars, Pugh "found a true sisterhood". Midsommar was one of Florence Pugh's best roles in an already impressive filmography. Whether her next performances will have her famous frown or not, there's no doubt that the next movies from Florence Pugh will be excellent because of her performance.
