Florence Pugh revealed the odd way she became good friends with late British espionage writer John le Carré on Wednesday during a talk show visit.
The 25-year-old English actress during a remote appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers was asked by Seth, 47, about meeting David Cornwell, better known by his pen name John le Carré, after starring in the BBC adaptation of his spy novel The Little Drummer Girl.
‘Yeah. I met him, and I’m, I was, I am, good friends with him,’ she said of Cornwell who died in December 2020 at the age of 89.
Late friend: Florence Pugh revealed the odd way she became good friends with late British espionage writer John le Carré on Wednesday during a talk show visit
‘I actually met him at the end of the shoot, which was quite daunting,’ Pugh said while adding that her character Charlie was based on the writer’s sister.
‘So I’m aware that there’s, like, a lot of pressure with playing someone that is so close to him. And I met him at the end of the shoot. So I was like, ”Oh, my god, that is…what if he hates what I’ve been doing?”,’ she said.
‘And I sat next to him at this dinner and there was a lot of anxiety to meeting the great David Cornwell. And I remember we sat down and we had a few argy-bargy comments to each other,’ Pugh continued.
‘And he said something that I was just like, not okay with. And so, I called him an old fart and he looked at me and he said, ”What did you just call me?” And I said, ”You’re being an old fart”. And I remember he, like, twinkled at me, and it was from that moment on, and he said, ”I think we’re going to get along” and we were best friends ever since,’ she laughed.
British author: David Cornwell, better known by his pen name John le Carré, shown in February 2016, died in December 2020 at age 89
TV adaptation: The 25-year-old English actress during a remote appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers was asked by Seth, 47, about meeting the late writer after starring in the BBC adaptation of his spy novel The Little Drummer Girl
‘So, I really have a lot of love for him and this year, it was painful saying good-bye to him. But, I mean, everybody knows he is an amazing man he’s written some fantastic greats,’ Pugh said.
Pugh was on the NBC talk show promoting her hit movie Black Widow that was released last week in theaters and made available on Disney+.
She was shown in a rooftop action clip with co-star Scarlett Johansson, 36, and Meyers congratulated Pugh on her ‘excellent roof work’.
Critical acclaim: Pugh is shown in a still from the the BBC series The Little Drummer Girl
‘You have to be able to slide down a burning hot roof in Budapest,’ Pugh quipped.
Meyers remarked that nobody ever thinks about how hot the roof must be and noted that a lot of actors after a certain temperature would beg out.
‘Well, when I am doing it with Scarlett, it’s more fun than it is pain. So I mean, I did have a good action partner,’ Pugh said.
New movie: Pugh was on the NBC talk show promoting her hit movie Black Widow that was released last week in theaters and made available on Disney+
Hot roof: ‘You have to be able to slide down a burning hot roof in Budapest,’ Pugh quipped about her role in Black Widow
Pugh also said it was nice returning home to England after spending most of the past year in Los Angeles away from family and friends.
‘It’s been a really nice few months doing press here,’ admitted Pugh, who attended the London premiere of Black Widow with her family.
Pugh has been in a relationship with actor Zach Braff, 46, since April 2019.
Hit film: Scarlett Johansson and Pugh are shown in a still from Black Widow