Actress Florence Pugh Discusses Pretending to Be Tom Cruise in Upcoming Movie 'Thunderbolts'
Headline: Florence Pugh's Tom Cruise-esque Death-Defying Leap in Marvel's "Thunderbolts"
Florence Pugh, the firecracker star of Thunderbolts, has been blurting about her pulse-pounding leap off the second-tallest structure in the world for the blockbuster.
Pugh returns as Yelena Belova alongside an assemblage of rebellious Marvel heroes, including Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and John Walker (Wyatt Russell), when the Avengers are MIA to save the day.
Forbes revealed: "Thunderbolts" and the return of Tom Cruise in "Mission Impossible" ignite the summer 2025 box office. Videos of Pugh's death-defying drop off Kuala Lumpur's Merdeka 118 hit the web a couple of weeks ago, and with Thunderbolts set to hit theaters soon (May 2, 2025), the actress has spilled the beans on her breathtaking leap of faith.
"Let me tell ya, it wasn't my bright idea to climb up there. That was already scripted, and it was already a hell of a way to start a script," Pugh dished to The Hollywood Reporter during a sit-down with David Harbour on Monday.
"I was just bloody amazed that they'd penned such a bada** opening scene. And then, when it got yanked out, that's when I got sassy," Pugh quipped, chuckling, recollecting an email to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige pleading to reinstate the scene.
Inspired by Tom Cruise's fearless stunts in "Mission: Impossible" and "Top Gun," Pugh couldn't resist the allure of a Hollywood moment. "Any piece of cake that Tom Cruise takes, stunt-wise and acting-wise, is absolutely jaw-dropping. I mean, I'd go postal if I didn't yearn to channel him for a hot minute," Pugh admitted to THR. "I don't reckon I'll be flying any choppers or zooming along on motorbikes, but this daredevil move was a perfect fit for me. So, it bloody was a blast to play Tom Cruise for a few brief moments."
Black Widow's Pretty Powerhouse
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Florence Pugh has taken up the mantle from Scarlett Johansson following their work together in 2021's "Black Widow." Even though it's a prequel set years before 2019's "Avengers: Endgame," where Johansson's character bid adieu, "Black Widow" marked the end of Johansson's tenure in the MCU.
Pugh, meanwhile, continues as Yelena in the Marvel Disney+ series "Hawkeye" and leaps back onto the big screen (and off a skyscraper) with "Thunderbolts."
"My entire Marvel journey was all because of Scarlett putting her faith in me and casting me in her movie [Black Widow] six goddamn years ago," Pugh said to THR. "So, I always miss her presence, and I always feel like it was a lousy trick to start the adventure with someone and then you never work with them again on it."
Pugh reflected on working with Johansson: "It was kind of wild that Black Widow was both our first and last MCU project together. I honestly hope she's proud that I picked up the torch she passed to me."
"Thunderbolts" lands in theaters on May 2, 2025.
- In the Marvel movie Thunderbolts, Florence Pugh reprises her role as Yelena Belova alongside other antiheroes such as Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster, and John Walker.
- It was revealed by Forbes that the release of Thunderbolts and the return of Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible are set to ignite the summer 2025 box office.
- Florence Pugh admitted that she was inspired by Tom Cruise's fearless stunts in Mission: Impossible and Top Gun, and that's why she performed a death-defying leap off a building in Thunderbolts, just like Cruise.
- Florence Pugh started her Marvel journey with Scarlett Johansson in the movie Black Widow, and even though Johansson's character has left the MCU, Pugh continues as Yelena in the Marvel Disney+ series Hawkeye and in the upcoming Thunderbolts movie.
