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Florence Pugh has laid out her three rules for “protecting” herself on a film set.
The Oscar-nominated star, 30, of Little Women and Dune has worked on some of the largest and most expensive film sets in the world – and learnt several lessons along the way.
In a new interview with Elle, Pugh spoke about how she is getting “better and better” at “protecting” herself and not accepting “bulls*** behaviour” when shooting a film.
Her outlook, she said, boils down to three rules for herself and the professionals she works with: “Show up on time, don’t be rude, don’t be a misogynist.”
“Every time I work on a movie, I get more confident in the way that I can protect myself and the way that I can lead a film set, and just not stand for bulls**t anymore,” she told the publication.
“I’m not doing it. I’m not standing for bulls**t behaviour. I’m not standing for bulls**t attitude. I’m not allowing for people to be rude to the crew.”
Pugh added: “You just get bolder and bigger and more confident with time, and you want to be around and work with the right people.”
Speaking about how important it is to maintain a harmonious feeling with the cast and crew, she added that “the moment someone is making that vibe feel off, everybody feels it”.
“I don’t want to deal with messy,” she said.
Pugh has been a vocal champion against misogyny both in the film industry and outside of it. In September, the actor doubled down in accusing Instagram of censoring her message publicly condemning the Cornell 7, the name given online to the seven male students accused of drugging and gang raping their female classmate at Cornell University in 2024.
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Speaking about the post in the Elle interview, Pugh said: “No one f***ing censors me. Don’t even try. That’s just going to add fuel to the fire.”
The actor has previously said that she had felt the need to speak out about the case on behalf of “all women”, adding that the fear of rape “lives in our bodies”.
“When stories like this come out and it’s really not picked up in the way that you hope it’s picked up, it makes me feel scared, it makes me feel anxious, it made me feel so much rage,” she said. “I’m lucky enough to do what I do and I have a platform and I wanted to talk about it.”
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673)