Emily Blunt Rides the Unnerving Rails of Addiction in ‘The Girl on the Train’

Emily Blunt’s metamorphosis into Rachel Watson, the physically ravaged, emotionally shattered alcoholic in “The Girl on the Train” (out Oct. 7) burrowed deeper than a mere Hollywood make-under.

“I don’t have an addictive personality whatsoever, so it was like wearing somebody else’s skin,” Ms. Blunt said of portraying the New York City suburbanite obsessed with a seemingly perfect couple she glimpses each day on her soused commute — just two doors down from where her ex-husband lives with his new wife and baby. And when her fantasy woman goes missing in this feverishly anticipated adaptation of the Paula Hawkins literary sensation, Rachel, her memory failing, fears she is responsible.

“As alien as this person is to who I truly am, I had to understand her and empathize and get into that mind-set,” Ms. Blunt added. “The thing I found most helpful was watching ‘Intervention’ on a loop until I had seen every type of addiction in action.”

Since snap-snapping her fingers into stardom as Miranda Priestly’s senior assistant in “The Devil Wears Prada,” Ms. Blunt has revealed an impressive range, veering from an alien-battling warrior in “Edge of Tomorrow” to the barren Baker’s Wife in the screen musical “Into the Woods” to an F.B.I. agent stalking a Mexican drug cartel in “Sicario.”

Offscreen, she’s the mother of 2½-year-old Hazel and 3-month-old Violet, her daughters with her husband, John Krasinski. In a phone interview from their Brooklyn home, the London-born, crisply funny Ms. Blunt, 33, talked about filming while pregnant and life with another actor. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Were you a fan of the book before you took on the role?

I was determined not to read the book initially because I saw everyone else and their auntie reading it. Then the producer called me and said, “We’re really interested in you for it, and do you want to have a read and see what you think?” I could quickly see why it became the phenomenon that it did. These domestic thrillers are quite tantalizing for readers. You can see yourself in these people. And that idea of danger being close to home is exciting.

What appealed about Rachel?

I don’t think I’ve ever played somebody who is living in such a dark place, who is truly in the depths of despair. And it was such an unusual element for your female protagonist, your heroine, to be a blackout drunk. In these movies that are expected to be blockbusters, women are usually held in some sort of feminine ideal, so that they’re appealing and likable and pretty. And I just thought, How fantastic that she looks like this and that she is your eyes and ears, the most unreliable witness, the most unreliable narrator in the world. It was a very easy yes.

Your Rachel is not the very overweight Rachel of the book.

Tate [Taylor, the director, whose credits include “The Help”] wanted it being less that she physically had let herself go and more a state of mind. She is not just an addict. She is compulsive and voyeuristic and damaged and self-loathing. Considers herself dangerous. I thought, What a thrill to play somebody who spends the entirety of the film living in fear of their own abilities and their own downfalls.

What are the hallmarks of her addiction?

Oh, huge guilt and huge regret — and regret is one of the most horrific emotions. She’s been spun a whole web of lies that she so readily believes about herself. She is certainly not somebody who walks into every room with great hope. She walks into every room with the idea that nobody wants to breathe the same air as her.

How far did Tate allow you to go in finding the character?

He gives you free rein, and I found that very helpful, to not feel straitjacketed or to conform to somebody else’s vision. She really needed to be my own, because it was such a stretch for me. The more I do this job, the more I realize that so much about performance is creating happy environments for people and making sure that they know that they can mess up and it doesn’t matter. You can always go again.

Did it bother you that the setting was moved from London to Ardsley, N.Y.?

In a way you can transplant this movie and put it anywhere, because that suburban commute is universal.

Did you actually shoot on a train?

We shot all of the interior stuff on this incredible rig that they made with green screen and plate shots. It was incredibly technical and complicated, and everyone just felt really seasick, because the train was jiggling around and moving but going nowhere. So it was like being in some weird twilight zone. And it was suffocatingly hot, and the poor extras were barely being offered a thimble of water.


And you were pregnant on top of it.

The only person who knew was Justin Theroux, because he’s my long-term friend. And he guessed, because I was being a bit of a wuss about some of the stunts. He was like, “You did ‘Edge of Tomorrow.’ What is wrong with you? Are you pregnant?” And I was like: “Yes, but shut up! Don’t tell anybody!” Then I had to tell Tate a little further along, because there was that scene in the bathtub, and I was like: “Here’s the deal. You have to shoot it from behind.” And he was like, “Why?” And I was like, “No. 1, because I don’t want to show everything, but No. 2, because of this.” I was like 20 weeks when we finished.

You’ve spoken out about the need for pay equity in Hollywood. Do you feel you’ve made a difference?

It is up to people like me, in my very fortunate position, to fight for equal pay, because that means that people who have less of a voice may receive the same. But I honestly don’t know if speaking out is the thing that makes the difference. I think it’s more in how I react when I’m making a deal.

You’ve been cast as Mary Poppins in a coming remake, and Julie Andrews has given you her stamp of approval.

Well, thank God! Can you imagine if she was like, “Oh God, not her”? I’d be devastated. But I’m very excited. My heart races about it, actually. And what a gift as a mom to have that for my daughters.

What’s it like being a working mother in a two-actor family?

[Laughs sharply] Sometimes actresses talk about being a working mother as if they’re the only working mothers in the world. My sister, for example, is a literary agent who literally wakes up to 800 emails in her inbox, and she has a 19-month-old. I don’t know how she does it. I actually get long chunks of time off that I take very seriously, because my kids are at very tender ages where they need me. And I’m very fortunate, because there are so many mothers who don’t get to be picky about when they work.

The two-actor family thing has always been something wonderful for John and I, because we deeply understand what each other do and have a shared love of it. Actresses say to me, “Oh I could never be with an actor.” But I think it depends on the actor. You know, I just happen to be with a very secure, wonderful one.

With great abs, according to People magazine.

With great abs. Exactly.

Source

Emily Blunt attends The Girl on The Train London Premiere

Emily Blunt attends The Girl on The Train London Premiere

The World Premiere for The Girl on The Train was held in London earlier and here are some photos (more coming!)



Emily Blunt at the Michal Kors Show at the NYFW

Emily Blunt at the Michal Kors Show at the NYFW

Last week, Emily attended the Michael Kors Spring 2017 Show at the New York Fashion Week, where she debuted her newly blonde hair, here are some photos:


Emily Blunt Talks Dangers of “Mommy Cults” at ‘Girl on the Train’ World Premiere

Emily Blunt Talks Dangers of “Mommy Cults” at ‘Girl on the Train’ World Premiere

“In the domestic world is where I think women can be quite cruel about each other, more so than any other environment,” Blunt told THR.

Emily Blunt, Luke Evans, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett and director Tate Taylor arrived at the world premiere of The Girl on the Train on Tuesday night, where they walked on faux train tracks in lieu of a red carpet in London’s Odeon Leicester Square.

The Universal thriller stars Blunt as a troubled woman (an alcoholic whose husband left her for his mistress) who becomes fascinated by a seemingly perfect couple whose home she passes while riding the train. But after she thinks she witnesses a murder, she begins to realize that she may have been involved in the crime.

As the novel and film touch on aspects of motherhood, Blunt — donning a bejeweled, floral Alexander McQueen gown — ironically shot the adaptation of the Paula Hawkins bestseller while still pregnant with her second child.

“I think women will really relate to it and see aspects of themselves, or themselves fully, in any one of these characters,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “There is a huge societal pressure on women when it comes to motherhood, and these ‘mommy cults’ that go on. It makes women feel that they have to be a bit defensive about the choices they make — whether they want to be a mother or whether they don’t, whether they want to breastfeed or whether they don’t. I could go on and on.

“In the domestic world is where I think women can be quite cruel about each other, more so than any other environment,” she continued. “This film captures that.”

Blunt herself is admittedly a fan of some true crime entries — “I loved The Jinx, and my father defends criminals for a living so it’s definitely dinner-table conversation for us!” — but still needed to unwind after a long day of shooting the dark domestic thriller.

“I found a way to detach from the day — I had a long car ride home and would try to meditate on the way,” she said of the December shoot in New York. Luke Evans agreed: “I had to go back to Manhattan — but no train for me!”

The Girl on the Train hits theaters Oct. 7.

Via THR

The Girl on the Train – Emily Blunt and Luke Evans interview (Video)

New interview with Emily Blunt and Luke Evans about The Girl On The Train, which has it’s premiere tonight in London.



Emily Blunt Talks Mary Poppins

TAKING on one of the most-loved characters of all time carries with it a certain kind of pressure, not least when you are following in some practically perfect footsteps. However, for Emily Blunt – who is playing Mary Poppins in the forthcoming remake of the 1964 classic – a confidence boost recently came her way from her famous predecessor.

“Rob [Marshall, the film’s director] said he was in the Hamptons, and he saw Julie Andrews and he said, ‘It’s top secret, but Emily Blunt’s playing Mary Poppins,’” the actress revealed to Entertainment Weekly. “And she went, ‘Oh, wonderful!’ I felt like I wanted to cry. It was lovely to get her stamp of approval. That took the edge off it, for sure.”

“I feel a little more trepidation with this because she’s so emblematic of people’s nostalgia,” Blunt admitted of taking the title role in the film, which is slated for release on Christmas Day 2018. “It’s such an important character in people’s childhood.”

Blunt – who is currently promoting the much-anticipated The Girl On the Train, which is hitting cinemas later this year – also disclosed how her interpretation of the legendary nanny will differ from the portrayal made famous by Andrews’s.

“We’re delving into the books a lot more, which is a different version of the character,” she revealed, referencing P.L. Travers’s original series. “She’s a little meaner, yeah,” she smiled.

Source

Emily Blunt covers Entertainment Weekly

Emily Blunt covers Entertainment Weekly

Emily Blunt is on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, promoting The Girl on The Train. Here are scans from the issue:



Gallery Updates: Magazine Scans 2004-2016

Gallery Updates: Magazine Scans 2004-2016

I’ve updated the gallery with several scans from 2004 til 2016. Some are bigger versions of what we’ve already had, but most of them are new additions. Click the thumbs to view the scans. Enjoy!


















The Hollars New York Screening

The Hollars New York Screening

Last week, Emily Blunt and her husband John Krasinski attended the Screening of his movie The Hollars, here are some photos.


Gallery Updates: Events

Gallery Updates: Events

Hello everyone! I’m catching up on past events I’ve missed updating. Here they are, just click on a thumb to view the album:




Emily Interview for The Girl On The Train

Emily talks her character in “The Girl on The Train”:


New Trailer and Poster for “The Girl On The Train”

There’s a new trailer for The Girl on the Train and new posters:



Emily Blunt and John Krasinski welcome second child

Last week, John Krasinski announced the birth of their second child, congratulations!

First look at Emily Blunt at the MET Gala

Here’s a fist look at Emily Blunt in tonight’s MET Gala:


emily-met-2016

National Board of Review Gala Awards – Photos

National Board of Review Gala Awards – Photos

On Tuesday, Emily attended the National Board of Review Gala Awards where the cast of Sicario received the Spotlight Award. Here are photos: