Florence Pugh became the target of London criminals as masked robbers smashed into a van the Thunderbolts star and her family used following the UK premiere of her new Marvel film. The 29-year-old actress had just stepped out at the glitzy Leicester Square premiere of Thunderbolts — joined by her gran Pat and boyfriend Peaky Blinders star Finn Cole — when chaos unfolded outside the after-party venue near the Strand.
In terrifying scenes, two men wearing balaclavas pulled up on a motorbike and smashed the windows of one of five black Mercedes vans that had transported Florence and her loved ones. The raiders reportedly stole a laptop and mobile phone before fleeing the scene.
An onlooker told the Sun: “Florence and her family and friends pulled up in five Mercedes vans to the after-party. Not long after they’d gone inside, a motorbike with two blokes in balaclavas pulled up and they smashed out a side window of one of the vans.
“The chauffeurs who were driving the vans didn’t have a chance to do anything, it all happened so quickly. They got inside and made off with a laptop and a mobile phone from the middle seats.
“Luckily, Florence and her friends and family, including her gran, were inside and weren’t affected, but it was still shocking. London is becoming lawless and these thieves seem to know exactly where their targets are.”
Photos from the scene show one of the vans with its rear windows crudely patched up with bin bags after the brazen raid. Florence, who plays assassin Yelena Belova in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, didn’t appear to let the incident derail her schedule.
Just hours after the attack, she was seen smiling for cameras at another promotional event at the Corinthia Hotel in a black leather dress, joined by co-stars David Harbour, Lewis Pullman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed the break-in had been reported. A spokesperson said: “A 35-year-old man reported his car had been broken into overnight on Tuesday, April 22, with a phone and laptop allegedly stolen from inside. No arrests have been made yet.”
The attack has reignited growing fears over safety in the UK capital. In January, Lib Dem MP Lisa Smart claimed car thefts in London had been effectively “decriminalised” after figures revealed the Met failed to solve nine out of ten cases.
Florence Pugh previously spoke about feeling “a lot of pressure” over her role in Thunderbolts because fans had a mental idea of what the character should be like before she started playing Yelena.
She told PA: “There’s a lot of pressure, a lot of pressure when you’re doing any Marvel creation. I think what you have to balance and understand is that the character you’re playing has been loved by people before you even stepped into those shoes.
“And even if Marvel had given you the opportunity to give it a go, people will have their own preconceived ideas of what they want that character to be. So it’s a huge responsibility, and it’s not something that should be taken lightly, and it’s not something that you should just expect people to like, and that’s part of the challenge and part of the joy of being a part of something so mega.”
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