Emma Stone is no stranger to transformation, but her latest role in Bugonia demanded a bold leap: shaving her head entirely on camera. The Oscar-winning actress stars in Yorgos Lanthimos’s upcoming sci-fi thriller, set for global release on October 31, and her dramatic haircut is central to one of the film’s most pivotal moments.
Bugonia, inspired by the 2003 South Korean cult film Save the Green Planet!, follows two men, played by Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis, who kidnap a high-powered pharmaceutical CEO (Stone), convinced she’s an alien bent on Earth’s destruction. As outlandish as the plot sounds, the emotional weight of Stone’s performance is grounded by a real-life connection.
While buzz swirled in late 2024 over Stone’s use of a wig at the New York Film Festival, the mystery was laid to rest during Bugonia’s Venice International Film Festival debut. There, audiences watched as Plemons’s character handed Stone a razor, marking the scene where she shaves her head — in one uninterrupted take.
Stone admitted the moment brought unexpected emotions. Despite mentally preparing for a year and a half, she broke into tears in her trailer just before filming. The intensity wasn’t just cinematic. Stone recalled her mother Krista’s battle with triple-negative breast cancer and acknowledged the deep personal symbolism of the act.
“There was just never going to be any other way,” Stone said, describing how essential the moment was to the role. She used a 1.5-millimeter blade, calling the post-shave shower “amazing.” Her daughter, Louise Jean, was lovingly warned in advance, and took the change in stride.
Stone joins a prestigious line of actresses who’ve shaved their heads for a role — Florence Pugh, Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron, and Demi Moore, among others — but she treated it with signature humility. “It’s just hair,” she reminded viewers at a screening.
The physical challenge of the film lay not in the razor but in the rigorous fight training and workouts. Bugonia balances intense themes with bursts of slapstick and sharp dialogue, earning a 7-minute standing ovation in Venice. Whether Stone’s bold new look or her fearless performance steals the spotlight remains to be seen, but one thing’s certain: she’s not afraid to go all in for a role.