Why ‘Oppenheimer’ Star Florence Pugh Shaved Her Head

Florence Pugh shaved her head, an unexpected change of style for the young actress. The Oppenheimer star dished to Radio Times, Pugh over the change, saying, “I purposefully chose to look like that. I wanted vanity out of the picture. … Hollywood is very glamorous – especially for women – and it’s hard for an audience to see past that, 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 added, “Vanity is gone. The only thing that people can look at then is your raw face.” Relating her new approach back to some of her earliest experiences in the film industry, Pugh explained, “Even at the beginning of my career, I was always fighting to control my image. It helps me when I’m wearing less makeup because then I’m less of a sparkly thing on screen. I feel like I’m allowed to do ugly faces, like it’s more acceptable.”

During the conversation, Pugh also spoke about her new film, Oppenheimer, by filmmaker Christopher Nolan. “It’s one of the biggest movies I’ve made,” she told Radio Times, per PEOPLE. “Chris’ approach is similar to indie movie-making.” Pugh continued, “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.” The actress later said, “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.”

Oppenheimer is a biopic-thriller about the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons. It is directed, written, and co-produced by Nolan, and is based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Cillian Murphy stars as Oppenheimer and Pugh portrays Jean Tatlock, with whom Oppenheimer shared an ill-fated romance. Additional actors from the star-studded cast include Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh. Oppenheimer opens in theaters on Friday, July 21.