Zach Braff’s A Good Person features Florence Pugh as a former opioid addict Allison whose life turned upside down after a tragedy struck her. As she seeks help for her substance abuse, she meets Daniel played by Morgan Freeman. The pair would soon develop an unlikely friendship as they bond over their past lives.
Florence Pugh sat down with Collider to discuss the film. Pugh reveals that prior to filming the movie, they did intensive research on the topic. They wouldn’t want their film to be degrading but rather, they want a film that would resonate to those who went through addiction. She said,
“If it doesn’t work, it’s offensive. It’s disrespectful. It’s embarrassing. It’s all the awful things that an actor, performer, or director never wants to feel. I think that’s why it is so crucial that we did deep, deep, deep diving, and deep background checks on what it is that these people are going through. You can’t make a movie like this with this topic and this unbelievably sensitive and delicate storyline without doing our research, and without talking to the right people, and that’s just something that, you know, it was obvious that you need to do.”
The actress also shared her process to perfectly embody her character. Since she portrays someone who became dependent on a substance, she knew she had to understand the substance that her character is taking. She said,
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“For me as an actor, I need to get into the physicalities of the character. That’s how I kind of get into who they are and how they walk and how they hold themselves. And especially for someone battling an opiate addiction. I needed to understand the drug. I needed to understand how it makes people feel when they have it, when they don’t have it, how it affects your life in all the positive and negative ways.”
In order to internalize her character further, she needed to understand what it’s like being in their shoes. She further added,
“And so, that was something that I took very seriously. And understanding the pain, the sheer physical pain that you are actually in. You need this thing, and if you have this thing everything is fixed, and you feel better, and everything up until that point of having it is agony, sheer pain, your skin is itching. You are absolutely ill, and the one thing that can save you is this little thing.”
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Florence Pugh Thrives Under Pressure
Warner Bros. Pictures
Florence Pugh’s character had to go through a lot in the film and of course, she had to act it out. For her, these were all challenges that she had to face. When asked if she’s had a hard time filming them, she said,
“Never. I thrive under pressure, and I love being put to the test, and I completely come alive when we are telling a story in a short amount of time. I love a short shoot. I find it exhilarating and thrilling, and everybody is so focused because we need to get it done. And you know, this is how I grew up in the industry, this is how I learned, was small indies with not a lot of time, tiny budget, an amazing cast, and a fantastic crew, and you’ve just got to make it work. And I think for me, I love the aspect of filmmaking. There’s nowhere to hide. There’s no day that you can figure something out. If you don’t get it, you lose it from the movie, and that’s how I learn. I really like stepping up to the challenge with these kinds of movies.”
A Good Person will be released in movie theaters March 24.
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