Florence Pugh argues why East of Eden's Cathy Ames isn't pure evil - and how she approaches her villainous moments

Florence Pugh has revealed how she empathises with her scheming character, Cathy Ames, in East of Eden.

The dramatic limited series is now out on Netflix and adapts John Steinbeck's beloved novel for a whole new generation.

In an interview with Radio Times, the Oscar-nominated British actress spoke about taking on the legendary literary villain, Cathy Ames, whom the series embraces as a complex figure from the novel.

When asked if she considers Cathy, as many in literary criticism in the past have done, to be pure evil, Pugh initially answered simply: "No."

Later, elaborating on approaching the character, Pugh continued: " I think that's important to reiterate is we've put all of the things that she's done in the book; it's in [the show]. We're not saying that she's getting away scot-free. We're just really trying to look at her with some level of understanding and breathe some love and some light and some life into her and understand that through the decisions that she makes, there'll be knock-on effects, but there's still a person at the centre of that that's getting affected by it."

She continued: "How do I attack a role like that? My goodness, with a lot of patience and a long run-up, which I'm really grateful for."

The actress surmised that it was six years between taking on the role and it coming to screens, but she revealed that it was a part that left her "constantly learning" throughout the production.

"I didn't take playing her lightly," she noted. "I didn't want to just throw any old spaghetti on the wall and see what stuck. I really wanted to be precise and authentic about every decision that I made, and [myself and writer-showrunner Zoe Kazan] were always completely aligned, and this is what was so beautiful about this creation: not only was I asked to step up and create this with Zoe, which was just such an honour to receive kind of that invitation as a young performer, but also for someone to trust that they knew that I could do this role before I even really knew that I could do it."

Pugh noted that she had a requirement for "showing up" and "growing up" and changing her "process" because she was portraying a "big, big character that a lot of people will know more and better than" her.

• Read More: East of Eden ending explained: Spoiler warning for how Netflix series ends – is it like the book?

She enthused that she "had to love [Cathy] in order to understand her".

When questioned on whether she agrees with interpretations of Cathy as a sociopath, given the murderous and selfish behaviour she exhibits, Pugh gave an equally considered answer.

She suggested she is "the best and the worst person to ask" but says she feels "very protective" of Cathy as she likes to understand all of the characters she portrays.

Pugh continued: "I think as women, it is our duty to try and take in everything that has happened to her in her life, and maybe that gives context as to the things that she then does in reaction to it."

The series portrays Cathy as facing abuse in her younger years, and this is something that haunts her throughout the series.

Pugh opined: "You can't expect us to accept what happens to her in her early days in her life, in her early years, and for that not to affect her for the rest of her life. How does that wear on her? How does she feel about men after that? How does she feel about sex after that? How does she feel about feeling safe? You've completely disturbed this human for the rest of their life.

"So I think we can, once we've accepted that, we can then look at everything in that way too, and that is huge for me because I have to feel correct and right about the decisions that I do every day shooting."

She concluded: " But what an amazing opportunity. What a character for me to be able to say that I've not only got to know, but I've done. I'm very grateful for this opportunity."

East of Eden is available to watch now on Netflix.

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