Emma Stone has quickly grown into one of the most revered actresses of this century, and while her acting chops are a huge part of it, it’s also her commitment to the roles she takes on. She’s dyed her hair brunette, blonde, and back to red, but she’s never actually been bald. For her role in Bugonia, the Superbad actress shaved her head for the first time, and let’s just say it wasn’t an easy A.
The Help actress is once again teaming up with The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos to star in his upcoming release Bugonia, set to premiere this fall on the 2025 movie schedule. This will be the director and actress’s fourth collaboration, following Kinds of Kindness, the Oscar-winning Poor Things and The Favourite. This time, though, the Cruella actress said via IndieWire that Lanthimos’ project included a huge change to her appearance that couldn't be avoided:
From the moment I read the script, I knew I’d have to shave my head, because there was just never going to be any other way.
Yet even knowing it was gonna happen, and that her frequent collaborator Jesse Plemons would be handling the clippers, Stone said it still wasn’t easy to do when the time came. She explained that she had a moment of doubt right before “action,” saying:
It was a year and a half I knew that I was going to be shaving my head, and then the day of — they were setting up four cameras, because we had to get it in one shot and we were shooting on VistaVision for the most part, which is a gorgeous but very moody camera that will shut down a lot — so they were setting up, and it was taking a long time to set all the cameras up. And I just started kind of panicking about that.
Stone is not the first actor to shave their head for a film or TV show (I see you, Millie Bobby Brown), but doing it on camera is less common. This meant they only had one take to get it right, and there was no room for panic once the cameras were rolling.
The Eddington actress said she found solace in the fact that her mom once had no choice but to be bald, either, but because she was battling cancer as opposed to doing it for something she loves. So ever the professional, the Zombieland actress managed to stay in character with a straight face as Plemons buzzed away.
In this Will Tracy homage to Save The Green Planet, the Civil War actor and his accomplice, played by Aidan Delbis, kidnap a high-powered CEO (Stone) they believe is really an alien sent to destroy Earth. In the trailer, Plemons' character Teddy justifies shaving Michelle’s hair to prevent her from contacting her mothership.
![BUGONIA - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters October 24 - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bd_5HcTujfc/maxresdefault.jpg)
I know the Crazy Stupid Love actress was hesitant about the complete chop, but I think she pulls it off, even if I can’t stop seeing Tilda Swinton in Doctor Strange.
However, as Stone has realized, it’s just hair. It grows back. She’s currently rocking the pixie cut again, which I personally think is one of her best looks. I can’t wait to see her on the red carpet for this movie, but I’m even more excited to see the actual film, as I can already tell from the trailer that it will be up there with her best performances.
Be sure to catch Bugonia when it releases in theaters worldwide on Friday, October 31st.
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