Florence Pugh Was ‘Fearless’ and ‘Committed’ to Shaving Her Head for “We Live in Time”, Says Director (Exclusive)

“I was stunned because I knew she was going to go off and do a Marvel movie,” John Crowley tells PEOPLE

Florence Pugh's preparation for We Live in Time demonstrated her commitment to the role, according to director John Crowley.

Crowley, 55, exclusively told PEOPLE before the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of their film on Friday, Sept. 6, that he was “stunned“ Pugh, 28, shaved her head for her role as Almut, who is diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer at one point in We Live in Time.

The director admits he had considered options for how to give Pugh a shaved head look — but the Midsommar actress had a different idea.

"Before I went to meet [Pugh], I, being conscientious, went to my fabulous hair and makeup lady and said, 'Look, how do we do this? Because if you can't shave it, what do you do?' " Crowley recalls. "So I had all of my sort of less good ways of doing it in mind, but before I even got to say anything about any of that, she was, 'I'm shaving my head by the way.' "

Related: Florence Pugh Shuts Down 'Weird' Rumors About Why She Shaved Her Head for We Live in Time Role

Crowley appeared surprised by the Little Women star's choice.

"I did not make an argument for her to not do that. I was stunned because I knew she was going to go off and do a Marvel movie and we slotted right into a window because her Marvel movie just shunted back a little bit,” he says, referring to Pugh's role as Yelena Belova the MCU.

"So she's fearless, Florence, and really committed," he adds.

Crowley also spoke about the chemistry between Pugh and her We Live in Time costar, Andrew Garfield, saying it can be "a tricky thing to pin down."

"They didn't know each other, they're quite different kinds of actors, but on day two of rehearsals, I began to see flashes of lightning in a bottle, as it were, and it began to get very exciting," he remembers.

"And I think what it was was that they would just fall into each other's presence,” Crowley continues. “That sounds mystical, but actually it was about the level of connection between the two of them.”

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According to an official synopsis for the movie, "Almut and Tobias [Garfield] are brought together in a surprise encounter that changes their lives. As they embark on a path challenged by the limits of time, they learn to cherish each moment of the unconventional route their love story has taken, in filmmaker John Crowley's decade-spanning, deeply moving romance."

We Live in Time premieres in U.S. theaters on Oct. 11.

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