• Florence Pugh told Fandango that Marvel Studios didn't want her to do a major stunt for "Thunderbolts*."
• Pugh said she emailed the studios' boss until they let her jump from the world's second-tallest building.
• After getting home from the jump, Pugh said she went into a "three-hour coma."

Marvel Studios nearly pulled the plug on the plan to let Florence Pugh jump off the world's second-tallest building for the "Thunderbolts*" movie, the actor said.

One of the scenes in the "Thunderbolts*" trailers shows Pugh's character, Yelena, jumping off Merdeka 118 tower in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while on a mission.

Pugh told Fandango on Monday that this was part of the script, but as the shoot day approached, the production team became hesitant about Pugh participating in the jump.

"They said they don't think it's going to happen because it's a crazy insurance ordeal, and obviously, we're not going to throw FP off the second-tallest building in the world," Pugh said. "I was like, what the fuck? Of course, we are!"

Pugh said she began emailing Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, like a "sassy Karen," saying her participation in the stunt would "do wonders for the press tour."

"We're going to have three women break three different Guinness World Records," Pugh said without clarifying which records.

Marvel eventually relented and used behind-the-scenes footage of Pugh's jump to promote "Thunderbolts*" last week. The clip has gone viral on X, with fans praising Pugh's dedication to film to pull off the impressive stunt.

Highlighting stunts seem more common for a "Mission: Impossible" press tour than a Marvel one. But the studio appears to be trialing new ways to promote "Thunderbolts*" to win back audiences after "Captain America: Brave New World" underperformed in February.

Last month, Marvel shared a trailer for "Thunderbolts*" in the style of A24 trailers, highlighting the cast and crew who had worked on the film and had previously worked on an A24 project. A24 has become Hollywood's cool kid independent studio after producing several Oscar-winning hits, including "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and "The Brutalist."

Florence Pugh said she fell into a three-hour coma after the stunt

Pugh told Fandango that she was not afraid of jumping off the building, but after the stunt, she became scared of the "level of control" over her brain.

"That is something that your body should not in any way want to do," Pugh said. "But when I did it, and we did it probably like nine times, I remember going home and thinking, 'Oh, I allowed myself to do that. That was so stupid.'"

Pugh added that she had to take a three-hour nap to recover after the stunt.

"Weirdly, when we did the jump after I came back up, I was always unbelievably zen-like in a very, very creepy way," Pugh said. "I stepped off, and then I fell, and I was so calm. And then, when I got home, I went into what I can only say is like a three-hour coma, like just deep, deep sleep."

She added, "My brain was obviously trying to focus and process everything."

• People can't get enough of Timothée Chalamet's unusual marketing campaign for "A Complete Unknown."
• He performed deep-cut Bob Dylan songs on "Saturday Night Live!" and arrived at the London premiere on a rental bike.
• He's nominated for an Oscar and these stunts could help get the attention of the Academy Awards voting panel.

From rocking up to a premiere on a rental bike to performing a medley of Bob Dylan songs on "Saturday Night Live!" Timothée Chalamet has taken an unusual approach to his press tour for his latest movie, "A Complete Unknown."

These unconventional stunts are a smart tactic to break through the noise during a competitive awards season, marketing experts told Business Insider.

If they pay off, they could help clinch Chalamet his first Oscar, making him the youngest best actor winner in Academy Awards history.

Chalamet keeps going viral

In the last few months, Chalamet has gone viral for a number of unexpected side quests while promoting the James Mangold-directed biopic. Before the publicity campaign began in earnest, he showed up to a lookalike contest of himself last October, making him appear "down-to-earth," Katharina Stolley, a marketing lecturer specializing in the creative industries at the University of Birmingham, UK, said.

He kept up the stunts as the film hit theaters in December by surprising people with his "elite ball knowledge" on an ESPN panel, copying an unexpectedly casual and memed outfit of Dylan's at the New York premiere, and arriving to the London red carpet on a bright green e-bike that has become synonymous with young Londoners.

Then there was his circuit of interviews with niche internet celebrities with cult followings: Theo Von, Brittany Broski, and the eccentric journalist Nardwuar, who typically interviews musicians not actors.

Chalamet then used a more traditional promotional tactic this weekend: hosting the sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live!"

Even then he pushed the envelope, becoming the first actor to host and perform as an episode's musical guest, singing a selection of deep-cut Dylan tracks.

The appearance gave those who have not yet seen "A Complete Unknown" a glimpse of Chalamet's take on Dylan, while "endearing him to a new, wider audience," said Markus Wohlfiel, a senior lecturer in marketing at De Montfort University, UK.

Stolley said that these stunts cultivate a "relatable public image" and "reveal his commitment to staying connected with his audience."

Chalamet is at the center of a clever "guerrilla marketing campaign"

They also amount to, more or less, free publicity. Searchlight Pictures, the Disney-owned production and distribution company behind the film, rolled out a traditional marketing campaign for "A Complete Unknown," including press junkets, as well as advertising in print and in cinemas and on billboards.

But Wohlfiel said Chalamet's stunts have collectively delivered a "clever out-of-the-box guerrilla marketing campaign."

"As everyone is talking about it in the traditional and social media, creating interest in the actor and the movie, they are clearly achieving their objectives with hardly any financial investment," he said of Chalamet and his publicity team.

Carl Jones, a senior lecturer in digital media at the University of Westminster, UK, agreed that Chalamet's stunts are a cost-effective way of getting his name — and, by extension, the movie — out there.

"This type of activity is a free way to get a film talked about in the media. Usually advertising a film costs Hollywood studios millions of dollars, but doing a stunt only costs the price of the stunt," he said.

Better yet, the gambits match the theme of "A Complete Unknown," which covers a controversial period in Dylan's career in the 1960s when he switched from acoustic to electric guitar and took a gamble on a new sound; Chalamet is similarly walking an unorthodox path as a young star.

Chalamet's promotion of 'A Complete Unknown' has a second target — awards voters.

Although the actor lost out on a Golden Globe earlier this month, he is still in the running for a BAFTA, SAG Award, Critics' Choice Award, and the most coveted of all, an Oscar. These awards are chosen by panels of industry insiders and critics whom nominees must impress.

Ashanti Omkar, a film, TV, and culture critic and broadcaster who is a member of the voting body for the BAFTAs, said Chalamet's virality could help keep him on voters' radars.

"Promotions which are memorable can stick in the minds of busy voters who are juggling their full time jobs while also assessing what to vote for," Omkar said. "The stunts here are great for visibility, but it is Timothée's sheer hard work and talent that has gotten him this level of awards buzz for 'A Complete Unknown.'"