I have been personally shaving my head for a few years, and while I’m now completely used to the process, it took me a long time to build up the nerve to do it. Even after sporting a buzz cut for a while, I couldn’t be totally sure what it would look like with my hair totally gone – either in terms of my skull shape or with my scalp. This in mind, I love the revelation that Emma Stone wasn’t alone in chopping off all her hair for the making of Bugonia, as doing so was part of a solidarity pact that she made with director Yorgos Lanthimos.
In an interview with People about the making of the new science-fiction thriller/dark comedy, Emma Stone spoke about the conditions she put on the table when it came to the discussion of her shaving her head, and part of the deal was that she wouldn’t be alone in losing her locks. If the two-time Academy Award winner was going to expose her scalp to the world, she wanted her director and frequent collaborator to do it also. She explained,
When I knew we were gonna do this … I said to Yorgos, ‘We’re gonna have to shave your head too so that we’re in solidarity.’ And he’s like, ‘OK.
In Bugonia, Emma Stone’s head is shaved on screen by co-stars Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis, but when it came time for Yorgos Lanthimos’ special haircut, Stone was the one wielding the clippers. The one problem? Because the filmmaker’s hair was far shorter than Stone’s, she didn’t get quite the satisfaction out of the experience that she had hopped. She added,
It was exciting, but it wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be to shave his head. It was cool. But it felt more dramatic, my shave. I don’t mean to brag, but my hair was pretty long, and his was not.
I suppose it would have been more satisfying for Stone if the film was made by a female director… but that would mean Bugonia not being the latest collaboration between the actress and Lanthimos, and I’m of the opinion that given their track record (including The Favourite, Poor Things and Kinds Of Kindness) they should continue making movies together forever.
The 2025 film, of course, doesn’t just have Emma Stone shave her head as a stunt – it’s an important part of the movie. In Bugonia, the aforementioned Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis play a pair of conspiracy theorists who believe that Stone’s character is an extraterrestrial who has been manipulating society on Earth. Part of their belief is that her hair is used as a means of communication with her people, hence why they feel the need to shave her head. It’s quite (purposefully) ridiculous, and it’s really just the starting line for the feature’s madness.
Following its debut in theaters this fall, Bugonia is now available for home viewing via digital rental/purchase, and the physical media release is coming just before Christmas (with the 4K UHD and Blu-ray dated for December 23). If you haven’t seen it, you absolutely should: for one, you should avoid spoilers while you can, and also, you’re missing out on some of the best performances of the year.
