Florence Pugh says the Netflix series “East of Eden” gave her something she had not expected from an acting job: a creative partner who trusted her and a boost to her confidence.
The seven-episode limited series, adapted from John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel by Zoe Kazan, premiered Oct. 1. Pugh stars as Cathy Ames, the novel’s calculating and destructive antagonist, and serves as an executive producer. She joined the project in 2020.
Kazan wrote the part with Pugh in mind. “I didn’t have a backup,” she told Netflix, and she sent Pugh the scripts for the first two episodes before pitching the show to the streamer. Pugh said at the New York premiere that she could not believe Kazan wanted her for the role. She described the invitation to help shape the series from the start as a major lift, one that let her think bigger about her own work.
Kazan told The Hollywood Reporter that Steinbeck describes Cathy as doll-like with something icy underneath. She said she saw that same mix in Pugh, along with a quality she called masculine in the Jungian sense rather than the gender sense. Pugh’s turn in “Midsommar” in 2019 also stayed with her.
The praise has been strong. The series holds an 85 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and reviewers have singled out Pugh. Esquire called her performance a career best. The Hollywood Reporter’s chief TV critic, Dan Fienberg, wrote that she tears into the role.
Pugh marked the release with an Instagram note that described the part as one of her most vulnerable performances. She credited Kazan with pouring “her heart and soul” into the series and called her a protector, work wife, cheerleader and source of confidence.
The adaptation has drawn some online pushback from viewers who feared it would soften Cathy. Kazan has rejected that reading and says the show does the opposite. Critics have raised a narrower point about the second half, when Cathy ages beyond the years Pugh, 30, can convincingly play. One review concluded the performance still works.
Pugh’s cast includes Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist. Garth Davis directed the opening episode.
