Florence Pugh Reflects on How Marvel Helped Her Growing Career

Florence Pugh has already made her name in Hollywood before she even joined Marvel Studios. But being part of one of the major franchises in the world is sure to create impressive growth in an actor’s career. When Pugh assumed the role of Yelena Belova in the MCU, fans embraced her character easily, and it became one of the reasons the actress did not have a hard time excelling in her superhero endeavors.

In an interview with Vanity Fair for their 2023 Young Hollywood cover, Pugh praised Marvel for having a flexible schedule that helps her land more opportunities while still working for them. “Working with Marvel has helped hugely. Their schedule is so precise—they know when they’re going to make it and when they’re going to release it,” she reasoned.

The actress is currently gearing up for her next MCU project, Thunderbolts. Despite Black Widow and the Disney Plus Hawkeye TV series occupying Pugh’s schedule in 2021, the Midsommar star was still able to juggle other acting gigs, which helped build her impressive and growing career.

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“If you want to fill your time with other things, you have to do it, amongst that,” Pugh explained. “You’re able to have a lot more leeway: ‘Oh, I’m going to be away doing this for this certain amount of time, so I need to make sure that I can get in a little indie here, or do a play.’ So that’s what I’m trying to do now.”

Pugh's hard-stop schedules have ironically given her the freedom to know exactly when she can and cannot work. That freedom has landed her not only a role in an ongoing sci-fi franchise but also a role in what is rumored to be the most Oscar bait to open this year.

“I went into the year willing to make it its own thing,” said Pugh. “And didn’t have any projects specifically lined up—like, hopefully, there would be one special big thing or one special little thing. And lo and behold, I got Oppenheimer and then I got Dune.“

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Pugh played the younger sister of Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). They are part of a makeshift family of four Russian assassins, with Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff and David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov. Pugh started to ride stardom when she starred in Midsommar and The Little Women.

Thunderbolts premieres in theaters on July 26, 2024.

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