Emily Blunt Interview
- Get 'Sunshine Cleaning' showtimes & tickets
- Watch Trailer & Clips
To put it bluntly, Emily Blunt is red hot. Ever since the 26-year-old Brit stole scenes from Oscar queen Meryl Streep as her equally demonic assistant in 'The Devil Wears Prada' (two years after some art-house girl-on-girl action in her breakout role, 'My Summer of Love'), Hollywood won't stop calling.
The most publicized offer was to play Black Widow in 'Iron Man 2,' a role Blunt reluctantly had to turn down because of a commitment to a big-budget comedic take on 'Gulliver's Travels.' But Blunt's staying true to her indie roots, currently appearing in two: 'Sunshine Cleaning' and 'The Great Buck Howard.'
In 'Cleaning,' Blunt and Amy Adams make a dream-team screen pairing as New Mexico sisters so strapped for cash, they start a business specializing in scrubbing up blood-soaked crime scenes. We asked Blunt about her sunshine-y co-star Adams, nightmares starring Benicio Del Toro and which superhero she'd like to play. -- By Kevin Polowy
Getty Images
1. Why'd you choose 'Sunshine Cleaning'?
It's usually based on character to me. I was very drawn to how weird and offbeat and quirky [Norah] was. I thought she was heartbreaking really, that desperate need to move on from the death of her mother, which no one's talking about. So she's kind of directionless, loping through life and using humor to deflect everything. So I thought it was a very real portrait of someone who's dealing with a lot of pain.
Overture
2. Would you have the stomach to do crime-scene cleanup?
I'm pretty good with blood, but that mattress had stuff on it that I don't even know what it was. It was like bodily fluids of other sorts and that freaks me out ... And it's got to smell.
Overture
3. Amy Adams seems impossibly nice and sweet. It must be an act...
[Laughs] It's all an act! She's horrible, loathsome and cruel.
Overture
4. What did you and Amy do to build up a sisterly dynamic?
We hung out a lot because we lived next door to each other. We actually did when we were in Albuquerque; not here (laughs), that would be creepy. "Amyyy, I'm moving in!" She would be like, "Get her out." No, I met her on 'Charlie Wilson's War' and it was a very easy thing to be with Amy. She's one of those actresses that thrills you and also terrifies you because she's that good. So I was realizing I was going to have to up my game. When I met her on 'Charlie Wilson's War' we were kind of sussing each other out, whether we could manage to spend three months together. Then we realized we could very readily and with the greatest of ease. It was such a blast, and she's very inspiring to watch as well.
Overture
5. Which character that you've played on screen do you think is most like yourself?
It's weird, because I feel I've been different at different points in my life. I feel like I have been Norah. I've never been like the character in 'Prada', thank God. (Laughs) I don't feel I've been that on the edge of a nervous breakdown. I feel like in parts of my life I've felt like Norah. I have a really obsessive thing with time, so that probably can relate to my more neurotic character, like the one in 'Buck Howard.' I get really anal about timing. I get very specific about things like that and planning. I don't know, really. I try to detach myself. I don't know if anyone really knows who they are. I think I'm still trying to work it out.
Magnolia
6. Speaking of 'Prada,' did you get many dirty looks on the street after that role?
I think people usually expect me to be horrible, but no, I think those people kind of found her funny, so it's not that people hated her, it's that people love to hate her. I know I've met people who have been like, "I was expecting you to be so bitchy." But maybe I should fulfill people's expectations [laughs].
Fox
7. You're also currently starring with Tom and Colin Hanks in 'The Great Buck Howard.' After 'Charlie Wilson' with Tom, you must be pretty close with the Hanks family now.
Well I'm not really close [laughs]. I'm not going 'round for dinner, but I know Colin much better, and he and I email a lot and he's a really wonderful guy.
Magnolia
8. After hooking up with both father and son, you recently joked that you're making your way through the Hanks family. So who's next then?
It would be really wrong to say the 15-year-old [Truman]. That would sound creepy ... Rita [Wilson] might be next [laughs].
Magnolia
9. Were you disappointed that you weren't able to join the cast of 'Iron Man 2'?
No, I think it just became very complicated and difficult to try and make both films work, and so, you know, it's all ended in the way it should have ended. I mean, I get very fatalistic about these things, so it just got far too complicated, and I wish them the best of luck on 'Iron Man' because it's going to be great.
Paramount
Add your comments