Florence Pugh Says Shaving Her Head for “We Live in Time” Caused 'Trauma' on Her Body: 'It Was Really Bizarre'

The actress opened up in a new interview with 'British Vogue'

Florence Pugh is revealing the "trauma" she experienced after shaving her head for a role.

In an interview with British Vogue released on Wednesday, Sept. 18, the 28-year-old British actress opened up about the decision to cut her hair for her upcoming film, We Live in Time. In the romantic drama, which also stars Andrew Garfield, Pugh plays Almut, a chef who is diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer.

“[Shaving] it was really bizarre," the actress told the outlet. "My head was so sensitive and so many people were trying to touch it and it was so alive.”

Pugh also shared that her "body went into a bit of trauma from it," adding: "I was cold all the time.”

The Oppenheimer actress explained why the decision to shave her head was so important to her.

“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,” she said. “You have the honor of doing something to yourself that is totally in support of the character.”

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

Ahead of the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of We Live in Time on Friday, Sept. 6, director John Crowley told PEOPLE exclusively that he was “stunned“ Pugh shaved her head for the role.

The director, 55, said that before Pugh committed to the cut, he brainstormed ways to give her a shaved-head look with the hair and makeup department.

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"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 recalled. "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.' "

"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 continued, referring to Pugh's role as Yelena Belova in the MCU.

Crowley added, "So she's fearless, Florence, and really committed."

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Pugh debuted her shaved look at the 2023 Met Gala, where she also wore a towering headpiece.

In an interview withVanity Fair published on Thursday, Sept. 5, the actress spoke about the scrutiny she faced for the look.

“I think there was this weird rumor on the internet saying that I did it to take back my identity,” Pugh recalled reading, though she’d never claimed any similar statement in her “entire life.”

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

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