Florence Pugh Says Tom Holland Helped Her Land Her Spider-Man: Brand New Day Role | The Tonight Show

0:01 -Welcome back to the show.

0:02 Thank you for being here.

0:02 -Thank you for having me again.

0:04 -You recently took a trip to Italy, and you made a video, and it went viral.

0:09 And I just wanted to show everyone the video

0:12 just so they could see what you did in Italy.

0:15 -Yeah, lovely form.

0:16 Back straight.

0:17 Yeah, nice.

0:19 -Matt's sometimes, like, "Lean forward." -Lean forward, okay.

0:20 I think you might need to take a sip of the left one to make sure they're even.

0:24 Keep that right arm going.

0:26 Yeah, nice.

0:27 -Uh, that's very good.

0:28 Cheers and applause] That's good exercising.

0:31 -Yes.

0:31 Gotta get the Aperol gains.

0:33 -You gotta get the Aperol.

0:34 Was that video for anyone in— uh, specifically?

0:37 -Uh, yes, I— So, I had originally planned to land, and I had like a few hours,

0:41 and I was gonna be really good and brave and be a big girl.

0:45 and I was gonna work out with my trainer online.

0:47 And by the time that I got there, all the hours had gone,

0:50 and there was like half an hour left, and I thought, "No.

0:54 I've got to be true to myself." So I sent that video to my trainer.

0:58 Laughter] -That's very thoughtful of you.

1:01 -So that's why I say,

1:01 "Matt tells me to lean forwards."[ Laughter] -I also— I think it's really funny.

1:05 I want to congratulate you, by the way, on "Spider-Man:

1:07 Brand New Day." Not only was it the— -Oh, thank you.

1:09 Cheers and applause] -You were great fun in that film.

1:15 Not only is it the highest grossing film of the year,

1:16 it's now the highest grossing domestic film of all time.

1:20 -Oh, my goodness.

1:20 Cheers and applause] -What?!

1:23 -Well done, Spidey.

1:25 -No one knew that you were gonna be in this until it came out.

1:28 When did you know that you were gonna be part—

1:29 -I didn't even know I was gonna be in it.

1:30 -Yeah, you didn't.

1:31 -Driven to work one day, and I was like,

1:33 "Oh, gosh, I'm Yelena." -You're like— yeah.

1:35 You're watching the film, you're like, "Did I do this?

1:37 Wow!" -Was the potatoes in my pocket.

1:39 -Oh, my gosh.

1:40 People love that your character kept saying that Spider-Man's

1:43 problems were small potatoes compared to the Avengers' big problems.

1:45 -Big potatoes, small potatoes.

1:48 -Was that in the script or was that Florence Pugh?

1:49 -A bit of both, yeah.

1:50 -Yeah, it is, yeah.

1:51 -I did a fair bit of riffing on the day of, like, how tiny the potatoes were.

1:55 And, um, yeah, no, it was a— it's a brilliant bit.

1:57 -It was well done.

1:58 -I've gotta be honest— it's great.

1:59 -Well done.

2:00 Everyone loved it in the theater I saw.

2:02 Well, it's being predicted, by December,

2:04 that you'll be in three of the biggest films of the year, there's "Spider-Man:

2:08 Brand New Day," then you're also in "Dune Part Three," and you're in "Avengers:

2:13 Doomsday." -Gonna be a very busy girl.

2:16 Cheers and applause] -Very busy.

2:18 And you're more than welcome to come back if you're doing any press for it.

2:21 -I would love to come back.

2:23 -But I thought we could play a fun game, a quick game.

2:25 It's called...

2:25 -Okay.

2:25 -...Brand New Dunes Day.

2:27 Laughter] And what I'll do is, I'll give you a few questions.

2:30 All right?

2:30 And you tell me which of the— the three films best answers this question.

2:35 -Okay.

2:35 Is it like rapid-fire?

2:35 Do I have to think quickly?

2:36 -No, you don't really have to think.

2:38 "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," "Dune Part Three," "Avengers:

2:40 Doomsday." I'll trust all your answers.

2:42 -Okay.

2:43 -Favorite filming location.

2:44 -Uh, uh...

2:45 Uh— pfft!

2:47 -You are thinking.

2:48 -I love that you're even putting— you're putting thought into this.

2:52 Yes, thank you.

2:53 -Budapest for "Dune." -Ooh, "Dune." Yes, of course.

2:55 I can't even imagine.

2:56 -I love Budapest.

2:57 Great food.

2:58 Great food.

2:59 -Really?

2:59 -Yeah.

3:00 -Oh, my gosh.

3:01 -Yeah.

3:02 -Most fun you had with a co-star.

3:04 -Channing Tatum, "Doomsday." -Yeah.

3:06 Ooh, I love that.

3:07 He's super fun.

3:08 -He's so fun!

3:09 -He's fun and funny.

3:10 I love him.

3:11 Favorite line of dialogue.

3:13 -Potatoes.

3:14 -Yeah, potatoes.

3:15 -Potatoes.

3:15 -Potatoes.

3:16 What are you talking about?

3:18 -When do you get to say "potatoes"

3:19 to Tom Holland and it's taken completely seriously?

3:21 Laughter] -Which, by the way,

3:23 I did hear that Tom Holland just randomly mentioned you in some interview.

3:26 -Oh, you know, this all happened because of Tom.

3:29 So, years ago, when I had just kind of started my relationship with Marvel,

3:33 and "Black Widow" had come out,

3:34 and I— my Yelena wasn't as obviously big as all of the other big superheroes.

3:39 He, on the red carpet of his previous movie, when someone said,

3:42 "Who do you want to do the next movie with?

3:44 Do you want it to be with Thor?" And I don't remember the superheroes,

3:47 but they were, like, all massive superheroes.

3:49 And he said, "No, actually, I want to— I want to do it with Florence Pugh,

3:52 who plays Yelena." So because of that, fans were then, like,

3:55 so excited about the idea of it, and that started the ball rolling.

3:59 So thanks to Tom.

4:00 Thank you, Tom.

4:00 -Yeah.

4:01 Come on.

4:01 Thanks, Tom Holland.

4:02 I love that dude.

4:04 Applause] And you knocked it out of the park.

4:08 All right.

4:09 Favorite scene to shoot.

4:11 -Favorite tu shene to shoot?

4:13 Sorry.

4:13 Savor— Savor— Save it fazene...

4:16 -Savorite frazene...

4:16 -...to boot.

4:17 -...to boot.

4:18 -Uh, ooh, ooh!

4:20 Okay.

4:21 Laughter] Uh, I probably actually can't say much about anything, so maybe...

4:29 Okay.

4:30 So, there's a scene in "Dune" where I'm...

4:34 -Somewhere.

4:34 -...in a room with some people.

4:36 And...

4:37 Laughter] -It sounds amazing.

4:38 -And it rhymes with Bobert Bapithin.

4:41 -Oh!

4:42 Cheering] -And then, I'm talking to him.

4:45 Gibberish] -Yeah.

4:46 -And then, I say something, they say something,

4:49 I say something, they say something.

4:50 -Wow, I love that!

4:51 Love that.

4:52 Cheers and applause][ Laughs] You set it up perfectly.

4:55 -I can't say anything.

4:56 -No, you didn't say anything.

4:57 You were very good.

4:59 Hardest film to keep the details a secret.

5:02 Scoffs] Probably "Spider-Man," because no one would believe

5:04 me that I was in a hot tub.

5:05 -Yeah, yeah, yeah.

5:06 Laughter] -I was in a bath with Tom all day.

5:07 -But you did it.

5:08 -I did it.

5:09 -Yeah, good.

5:09 You did a great job.

5:10 All right.

5:10 Thank you for playing that game.

5:11 I appreciate that.

5:12 Cheers and applause] I'm very excited.

5:16 But let's talk about "East of Eden."

5:18 This is based on the famous John Steinbeck novel.

5:21 You star in it.

5:22 You produced it, as well.

5:23 When did you first hear that they're redoing this?

5:25 -I heard about it years ago when Zoe reached out to me.

5:29 She is the writer and showrunner, Zoe Kazan.

5:31 And she— -Zoe Kazan is amazing.

5:34 -Yeah, she wrote it.

5:35 -Was it her— -Yeah, her granddad directed the original movie.

5:38 So she has this huge connection with it.

5:40 -Elia Kazan, yeah.

5:41 -Yeah, huge.

5:42 And she reached out to me, uh, like early 2020,

5:45 just before the world locked down, and, um...

5:49 And then we ended up having a Zoom two weeks into lockdown,

5:53 and we both just fell in love.

5:55 And she asked me to be her Cathy and if I could make it with her.

5:58 So I created this project with her, and I'd just been

6:01 given this huge opportunity to show up and grow up and, um,

6:06 create our version of "East of Eden," which I'm just so proud of.

6:11 -And how do we set up what's happening in this?

6:12 -Um, so it's an epic, a sweeping epic.

6:15 It's so cinematic.

6:15 We shot in New Zealand, so you can imagine all of the amazing mountains.

6:19 -Ooh.

6:19 And it follows Cathy Ames.

6:22 She's the kind of engine in our story.

6:24 Um, it follows the Trask brothers, played by Mike Faist and Chris Abbott.

6:29 And, you know, how all of their decisions in life,

6:32 um, lead to different situations and pass down family trauma.

6:36 It's an amazing, amazing story, and it's, like,

6:38 probably one of the hardest characters I've ever played.

6:40 So I feel very protective of it.

6:41 -How do you get into these characters?

6:43 Because this is like, what, late 1800s, early 1900s?

6:46 -So, I find perfumes for every one of my characters.

6:49 -Perfume?

6:49 -Yes.

6:50 I go and buy a perfume that is their smell.

6:53 And they'll be smells I would never buy as me.

6:56 -From that period in time, or just in general?

6:57 -Not necessarily, just in general of.

6:59 Laughter] -I thought maybe there's vintage 1800s perfume out there, and you go,

7:04 "I'm method, and I have to smell like they smelled," yeah.

7:06 -Probably smelled like [bleep] -Yeah.

7:08 Laughter] Exactly.

7:10 No.

7:10 So you just find some scent.

7:13 -I found an amazing perfume.

7:13 -And that scent is that role.

7:14 -Yes.

7:14 So I found this beautiful perfumery in New Zealand called Curionoir,

7:18 and I found an amazing smell for her.

7:21 I'd make playlists based off the different characters and the different vibes.

7:24 It would really help me get into certain scenes,

7:26 'cause there's quite some hard scenes in the series.

7:27 -That's insane.

7:28 -And what else?

7:30 Oh, I found an amazing photography book that was, um,

7:33 from a photographer that took pictures of prostitutes during that time,

7:36 and it was a— it was like a private kind of collection.

7:40 And obviously, it was very, you know, expensive to take pictures at the time,

7:43 so all of the girls are in their rooms,

7:45 and they're smiling, and they're just giddy and running around naked.

7:48 And it was just the most beautiful book because it's obviously

7:50 from the era and the women that we were telling the story about.

7:52 -Wow.

7:53 -So I found all of these little pieces that really gave me an idea

7:56 of— of who she was and what it was like to live in that time.

7:59 And, yeah, just truly an exhilarating experience playing her.

8:02 -I want to show everyone a clip.

8:04 Here's Florence Pugh in "East of Eden." Take a look.

8:06 -Thank you.

8:06 -By the time the girls pull themselves out of bed,

8:08 the porridge has often gone cold.

8:10 Might the timing be altered?

8:12 -No.

8:12 I have to start on dinner.

8:15 -Most days, there's at least one girl flashing the red flag,

8:18 lying about not earning.

8:21 Could we put those idle hands to work?

8:25 For every trick, you'll get a mark.

8:27 And at the end of each week, we'll tally them up.

8:30 May, you performed heroically last week.

8:36 Not only how many tricks you turned but just how pungent some of the men were.

8:40 Laughter] I'll work on getting our clients to bathe.

8:43 -Come on.

8:44 Florence Pugh!

8:45 Cheers and applause] "East of Eden" begins streaming this Thursday on Netflix.

8:50 Florence and I are doing something fun after the break.

8:52 Stick around, everybody.

8:53 Come on back.