As one of the most recognizable actresses on the planet, Emma Stone is more than a little used to being smack dab in the public eye. So when it comes to avoiding immediate spoilers involving big changes to her features, some effort is required. So it went for her latest team-up with director Yorgos Lanthismos, the trippy paranoia fest Bugonia that’s been winning over critics since premiering earlier in the 2025 movie schedule. Her performance didn’t end on the screen, either, thanks to her then-newly shaved head.
Following the production of Bugonia, Stone took it upon herself to keep her new ‘do, or lack there of, hidden from public knowledge, as not to give away the drastic alteration too soon. Speaking with People, the Oscar-winning actress says because there were “no pictures or candids” were taken on the set of the film, she was inspired to hide her bald look for as long as possible, thinking, “Why not keep this up for a little bit?”
She explained how her and Lanthimos’ previous collaboration Poor Things helped inspire her desire to keep audiences from seeing her specific look ahead of the trailer’s release, saying:
Because one of the great things that happened with Poor Things was nobody had seen pictures of Bella's look, that really long black hair. It was fun when the trailer came out for that, and it was like, 'Whoa.' It's nice when it's revealed later.'
Bella's look was indeed a distinct one for the Superbad vet, but I think most would agree that her scalpy look in Bugonia is even more startlingly distinct. The change is made all the more effective by the director actually having filmed her head being shaved, a process that had Stone going into panic mode.
Part of the hide-the-head effort included wearing beanies for three months straight, and I can understand why that wasn’t the most comfortable way to avoid fessing up. Especially during the earlier period when she wasn’t necessarily loving how the look felt. That feeling thankfully dissipated though, and Stone grew more accustomed to her lighter than usual locks.
Of course, beanies weren't the only way that she kept her head from making headlines. As she told Stephen Colbert during her recent visit to The Late Show (where she awkwardly forgot it was canceled), she did attempt to make a wig work for a premiere event, but essentially sabotaged herself in the process. As she put it:
I only really wore that wig once, because we had to go to the premiere. It was a great wig, but the problem is, I’m so unsubtle and just like generally stupid that the wig looked good, but the whole night I was like, ‘Can you tell it’s a wig?’ to everyone, and they were like, ‘We’re pretty sure she’s wearing a wig since she moved it around a lot and kept saying it.’
Pro tip: if you don't want anyone to know you're wearing a wig, it's best not to even say the word wig, even in other contexts such as "wigging out because you can't stop talking about your wig."
With stellar performances from Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis, Bugonia is worth watching for way more than just seeing Emma Stone without any of her usual hair. It's a twisty and twisted story about what happens when conspiracy theorists go too far. It hits theaters on Friday, October 31.
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