Florence Pugh praises longtime friend Timothée Chalamet: “Have a Lot to Achieve”
Florence Pugh is reflecting on the peer she came up with—and why she thinks his Hollywood story is just getting started.
In a new feature for ELLE’s 2026 Women in Hollywood issue, Florence Pugh looks back on the years she’s spent crossing paths with Timothée Chalamet on film sets big and small, calling him a constant through her breakout and beyond.
“He’s an old friend, I’ve known him since almost the beginning of it all. It’s always wonderful seeing friends that are on this journey with you.”
Pugh added in the profile that she’s fueled by the people around her:
“I always admire my friends that are working hard and have a lot to achieve.”
The pair first clicked playing Amy March and Laurie in Little Women and reunited in Dune: Part Two, with Chalamet as Paul Atreides and Pugh as Princess Irulan. Off camera, they’ve kept up the bit that they’re forever cast as almost-love interests who never quite line up.
On-set mischief
During the Dune: Part Two press tour, director Denis Villeneuve said their chemistry spilled into downtime on set — lots of laughing between takes and even slipping back into old Little Women rhythms. He affectionately called Pugh “mischievous” and a “rambunctious child,” and admitted he occasionally parked them on opposite sides of the set during breaks just to keep everyone on task.
Villeneuve also stressed that when it was time to shoot, both actors locked in. He singled out Pugh’s “immense firepower” and said their goofiness didn’t carry into filming — once the camera rolled, the play stopped and the work took over.