“Don’t Worry Darling” director Olivia Wilde is reacting to the gossip that there was a pay gap of between actors Florence Pugh and Harry Styles.
It was reported that Pugh made 3.5 times less than Styles, Wilde’s partner, and now Wilde has put an end to the speculation.
When Wilde cast the role of Alice, she knew she wanted a younger couple to be at the center of the film. She immediately thought of “Midsommar” star Florenceugh and “Dunkirk” breakout (and international pop star) Harry Styles. But, due to Styles touring at the time, LaBeouf was cast instead.
Before the cast of Harry Styles in “Don’t Worry Darling”, Shia LaBeouf was booked for the role of Jack. However, right before production started, LaBeouf departed the project, with Warner Bros. Pictures citing the regularly-used phrase: “Scheduling conflicts.”
In a recent interview with Variety, director Olivia Wilde breaks different perspectives on the actor’s exit. “I say this as someone who is such an admirer of his work: His process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions. He has a process that, in some ways, seems to require combative energy, and I don’t personally believe that is conducive to the best performances. I believe that creating a safe, trusting environment is the best way to get people to do their best work. Ultimately, my responsibility is to the production and to the cast to protect them. That was my job.”
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Wilde added, “A lot came to light after this happened that really troubled me, in terms of his behavior. I find myself just really wishing him health and evolution because I believe in restorative justice. But for our film, what we really needed was an energy that was incredibly supportive. Particularly with a movie like this, I knew that I was going to be asking Florence to be in very vulnerable situations, and my priority was making her feel safe and making her feel supported”
And at the end, Wilde concluded in these words, “We found the perfect Jack, and luckily, it’s kind of magical that it ended up being our first choice”.
