Jennifer Lawrence has revealed why she was initially resistant to the idea of her close friend Emma Stone shaving her head for her latest role.
Stone, 36, has teamed again with her Oscar-nominated Poor Things director, Yorgos Lanthimos, for his new sci-fi comedy, Bugonia. In the film, the La La Land star’s character Michelle is kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists, played by Jesse Plemons and newcomer Aidan Delbis, who force her to shave off all her hair in the back of a stolen Range Rover.
The Oscar-winning actor chose to legitimately shave her head for the scene, telling Vogue in a new profile that there was “no better feeling in the world.”
The moment also proved emotional for Stone, as it reminded her of when her mom, Krista, lost her hair while undergoing treatment for breast cancer. “She actually did something brave,” Stone said. “I’m just shaving my head.”
While the Easy A actor had no reservations about the buzz cut, her longtime friend, Hunger Games star Lawrence, wasn’t so keen on the idea.
“I really didn’t want her to shave her head,” Lawrence, 34, admitted to the publication in an email. “I had already lived through the Billie Jean King haircut.” For her portrayal of the tennis champion in the 2017 sports comedy Battle of the Sexes, Stone sported a wig cut in a modern 1970s shag.
Lawrence has since had a change of heart. “Honestly, she looked beautiful,” she said of Stone’s recent hair transformation. “She pulled it off.”
Stone initially had to hide her bald head under hats and wigs while filming. “I was bummed I wasn’t going out with it,” she said. “Just straight-up bald. I think that would have been fun.”
It wasn’t until the 2025 Golden Globes in January, after her hair had already grown out a bit, that she was able to debut her new look.
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Headlines initially chalked it up to a bold fashion switch, with many reports describing it as a dramatic super-short pixie cut.
Throughout her more than two-decade-long acting career, Stone has earned five Oscar nominations, of which she’s won two. She landed her first Best Actress triumph in 2017 for La La Land and her second in 2024 for Poor Things.
“The more challenging it gets, the more I like it,” she said of acting. “If you’re not growing or pushing yourself to different places—and I feel it’s the same for most people in almost any job — you get stagnant.”
Bugonia marks her fifth collaboration with the Greek filmmaker. She first worked with Lanthimos on his 2018 comedy-thriller The Favourite, alongside Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman, followed by Bleat (2022), Poor Things (2023) and Kinds of Kindness (2024).
The forthcoming movie, which also features Alicia Silverstone, is set for a world premiere at the Venice Film Festival later this month, before it is released in theaters October 24.
