As THR notes, Pugh’s filming schedule for “Midsommar” led directly into the shoot for Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women” — and she had trouble leaving Dani behind. “I felt like I’d left her there in that field, in that state, and it was so weird. I’ve never had that before. I’ve always thought all my characters, once I left like, ‘They’ll be fine,'” Pugh said. “She can’t fend for herself, almost like I’d created this person, and then I just left her when I had to go do another movie … I created such a sad person, and then felt guilty that I’d created that person and then left her.”
If you’ve seen “Midsommar,” you probably understand why Pugh felt so conflicted. Reeling from losing her sister, mother, and father, Dani tags along on a research trip to Sweden to attend a midsummer ceremony — which ends up in her favor, when all is said and done. As Dani’s friends are picked off one by one for violating various commune rules, her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), is drugged and ends up cheating on Dani with a young Swedish girl; in the end, she chooses him as a human sacrifice when she’s crowned the May Queen. This intensely difficult role put Pugh on the map, and she ultimately earned an Oscar nod for “Little Women,” placing Pugh firmly on Hollywood’s A-list — but there’s no denying that “Midsommar” was a tough project.