Aahana Swrup
John Crowley’s romance drama film ‘We Live in Time’ is a poignant exploration of love and life that follows a couple’s eager attempts to make the best of even the most heartbreaking situations. The story—told chronologically out of order—revolves around Almut and Tobias, whose unconventional meet-cute results in a wonderful life together. Yet, the couple faces their own challenges, the worst of which manifests in the form of Almut’s cancer diagnosis. Still, the couple—and their young daughter, Ella—face this tragic revelation with an inspiring streak of courage, choosing to savor their time together above all else.
One of the most moving depictions of this comes in the scene where Almut shaves her head in preparation for upcoming chemotherapy under the bright sun with Tobias and Ella’s help. The on-screen instance remains emotionally stirring, made all the more authentic by Actress Florence Pugh’s off-screen dedication to the project and her character.
Florence Pugh Wanted to Shave Her Head For the Role From Day One
Florence Pugh isn’t a stranger to projects that require drastic hair transformations. The actress previously chopped off her hair into a pixie cut on-screen for her 2023 film ‘A Good Person,’ considering the experience to be liberating and a key to unlocking a special connection to her character, Allison. Similarly, for ‘We Live in Time,’ Pugh was prepared to shave her head in service of Almut’s storyline from the day she read the script.
Initially, John Crowley assumed Pugh would want to find a workaround for the part of the script that included Almut’s experience with shaving off her hair. His assumption was further reinforced by the fact that the actress was set to start shooting Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolt’ immediately after wrapping up Crowley’s film. For the same reason, the filmmaker and his team had already done research into alternative solutions. Nonetheless, Pugh established during their first meeting that she wanted to shave her head for the role.
Pugh maintained her distaste for bald wigs and insisted that equipping other methods wouldn’t deliver the same results. In a conversation with British Vogue, the actress elaborated upon her decision. She said, “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. You have the honor of doing something to yourself that is totally in support of the character.”
Andrew Garflied Shaved Off Florence Pugh’s Hair On-Screen
Florence Pugh’s enthusiastic agreement to bestow Almut’s on-screen narrative with authenticity through actually shaving her head in real life ensured one of the story’s most emotionally evocative scenes remains laced with realism. In the film, after Almut decides to go through with her chemotherapy treatments, she, Tobias, and Ella make a day out of pre-emptively shaving her hair. As the scene focuses on the family’s sense of kinship, it prioritizes the value of the memories they make together over the tragedy of Almut’s decline.
Since Pugh had decided to really shave her head for the scene, her co-star Andrew Garfield, who plays Tobias, really helmed the Clippers during filming. As such, Crowley, the rest of the crew, and the actors—including Grace Delaney, who plays Ella—only had one chance to get the scene right. Fortunately, the on-take went successfully and resulted in a heartwarming addition to the on-screen story. Later, during the film’s press tour, Pugh recalled the instance and shared her experience with the decision’s aftermath.
Pugh said, “In many religions, hair is the most precious thing on the body – it’s where you store your memories and your dreams and your history. It (Shaving) was really bizarre. My head was so sensitive, and so many people were trying to touch it, and it was so alive. My body went into a bit of trauma from it. I was cold all the time.” Still, ultimately, the decision proved to be a gratifying one for Pugh, who was grateful for being able to entirely dedicate herself to a role she felt so passionately about.
Read More: Is We Live in Time Based on a True Story?
