Florence Pugh suffered ‘trauma’ after shaving her head

Florence Pugh attends A24's We Live in Time New York screening at Crosby Street Hotel on September 9. Photo / Getty Images

Florence Pugh suffered “trauma” after shaving her head for a movie role.

The Midsommar star plays a chef who receives a shocking medical diagnosis in new film We Live in Time and she’s revealed it was a “bizarre” experience having all her hair lopped off.

She told British Vogue magazine: “In many religions, hair is the most precious thing on the body - it’s where you store your memories and your dreams and your history. [Shaving] it was really bizarre. My head was so sensitive and so many people were trying to touch it and it was so alive.

“My body went into a bit of trauma from it. I was cold all the time.”

She added: “For any actor taking a role like this, it is completely important that you see her head and we see her shaving it - it was just always a no-brainer.

“You have the honour of doing something to yourself that is totally in support of the character.”

Pugh’s head was shaved onscreen by her co-star, Andrew Garfield, who admitted it was a nerve-wracking experience.

He told the magazine: “It was a privilege to be given that job. [But] What if I somehow destroyed the head of one of the best actors of her generation? It was terrifying, but ultimately it was a very beautiful, intimate scene to shoot and thank God she has such a nicely shaped melon.”

In the interview, Pugh also opened up about facing criticism about her appearance from online trolls, admitting: “It’s so hard. [The internet’s] a very mean place. It’s really painful to read people being nasty about my confidence or nasty about my weight. It never feels good.

“The one thing I always wanted to achieve was to never sell someone else something that isn’t the real me.”