Florence Pugh Says She Shaved Her Head to Take “Vanity Out of the Picture”

It has been over two months since actress Florence Pugh debuted a dramatically different hairstyle at the Met Gala in May—and, per People, she is opening up about why she chose to don the buzzed-cut look.

“I purposefully chose to look like that,” she told Radio Times in an interview, per The Daily Mail. “I wanted vanity out of the picture.” 

Pugh is in this week’s new release Oppenheimer—which hits theaters Friday—and said she wanted audiences to see past the glitz and glamour of Hollywood: “Hollywood is very glamorous—especially for women—and it’s hard for an audience to see past that,” she said. “Whenever I’ve not needed to be glam or have a full face of makeup, I fight to keep it that way. It helps the audience.”

She continued “Vanity is gone. The only thing that people can look at then is your raw face.”

Pugh has been in the business since she was a teenager, appearing in films like Little Women, Don’t Worry Darling, and is now promoting Oppenheimer, which she stars in alongside Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr., playing Jean Tatlock, the love interest of the titular character J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy. “Even at the beginning of my career, I was always fighting to control my image,” Pugh said. “It helps me when I’m wearing less makeup because then I’m less of a sparkly thing onscreen. I feel like I’m allowed to do ugly faces—like it’s more acceptable.”

While on the press circuit for Oppenheimer, Pugh appeared on the red carpet for the movie’s U.K. premiere in London last week sporting short hair, which has grown out from the initial buzzcut that she debuted at the Met Gala, People reports. “The actress continued to express herself by changing her hair color from a soft pink to a fiery orange,” the outlet writes.

Of the film, Pugh told Radio Times “It’s one of the biggest movies I’ve made. Chris’ approach is similar to indie movie-making,” she said, referring to director Christopher Nolan. “It reminded me of the early days when I was used to a fast-paced way of working—where, if you lost a scene from the day, you would lose it from the movie. When I walked on set, I couldn’t believe there was that similar, incredible adrenaline, which I hadn’t felt on a massive movie for a long time. It’s a wonderful thing to inject into a film set—believing in yourself and what you’re making.”