Black Widow star Florence Pugh has admitted that, although she's had plenty of starring roles before in the likes of Little Women and Midsommar, she's particularly nervous about people seeing her in the Marvel blockbuster.
The actress plays Red Room-trained Yelena Belova in the Black Widow solo outing, starring alongside Marvel veteran Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow / Natasha Romanoff) and Stranger Things' David Harbour (Red Guardian / Alexei Shostakov).
Speaking to ELLE UK for its June issue, Pugh revealed that the most terrifying aspect of all is actually hearing her Russian accent on the film.
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"I was scared because my Russian accent was going to be out there and I didn't know what it sounded like," she said. "I'm also playing a character who no-one's seen before but they've read about her. I didn't know whether people were going to hate me!"
And that's not the only prospect of joining the MCU that was a little overwhelming, as the actress revealed that being part of such a big franchise is "daunting".
"When you think of Marvel, it's big and daunting. Especially being a relatively small actor to look at it and go, 'Oh! I'm going to be a part of this', that's a big decision," she said.
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And it turns out that even the most experienced Marvel actor can get a little nervous, as Pugh recalled about the cast being revealed at 2019's San Diego Comic-Con.
"(Scarlett and I) both stood there and I instantly had clammy, sweaty hands," she said. "Scarlett gave me her hand and we squeezed each other, and she also had clammy hands! And then I was like, 'Oh, this never gets old. This is just as powerful (for you) and you're their legend!'"
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The actress, who is in a relationship with Scrubs star Zach Braff, recently criticised Instagram 'bullies' who left nasty comments on her photos featuring her boyfriend, saying that "it makes me sad".
"I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love, and I would not ever in my life ever, ever tell anyone who they can and cannot love. It is not your place and really it has nothing to do with you," she said.
Black Widow has a November 6, 2020 release date in the UK and the US.
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Reporter & Sub-Editor, Digital Spy Susannah is a freelance writer and sub-editor, specialising in the entertainment industry. She graduated in 2014, with a BA in English and American Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Producing. She’s been writing for Digital Spy ever since, after first getting involved through work experience, and has written hundreds of stories for the site on a range of topics, from The Sims to Doctor Who. Susannah has also written for Reveal Magazine. Her special interests are soaps (her Mastermind subject would be 2000s Coronation Street), Marvel and Star Wars. She can also quote far too many lines from Friends and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
