Emily Blunt On Avoiding On-Screen Nudity: ‘I Don’t Think It’s Necessary Most Of The Time’
Actress Emily Blunt has been open about her desire to avoid future roles that call for on-screen nudity or grotesque violence and racism, The Telegraph reported in an interview with the British actress.
Emily Blunt has done these sort of roles in the past, including appearing topless in early-career works My Summer of Love (2004) and Henry VIII (2003). Now that Emily Blunt, 33, is “four or five months pregnant” with her second child with husband John Krasinski, the Sicario actress no longer wants to take on the bawdy roles she’s played in the past.
“Too racy would be one thing I wouldn’t go for now. I’m not so keen on doing nudity, because I’m not 22 any more. And actually it’s not so much a moral thing as ‘I’ve done it before and do I really want to do it again?’ Does it serve the film or is it gratuitous and seeing someone’s [breasts] for the sake of it? Because I don’t think it’s necessary most of the time. Also playing violent or racist characters would be hard for me now.”
The reason has as much to do with her maturity as her life after becoming a mother nearly three years ago. Yet, that doesn’t mean that Emily Blunt is done taking risks in her film career.
Instead, the villain in the upcoming movie The Huntsman: Winter’s War is actually more inclined to search for those roles. To that end, Emily Blunt has done just that, playing roles from a reserved French teacher in The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) to a military-trained assassin in Edge of Tomorrow (2014).
Hollywood attempted to cast Emily Blunt in “every single acerbic British [expletive] role on the planet” after her break-through role on The Devil Wears Prada (2006). Since then, Emily Blunt has been searching for roles that are unlike what she’s done in the past, the actress explained.
“Doing the same thing over and over again is not the joy of the job for me – so after Prada I turned them all down and went off and played an American pothead in Sunshine Cleaning instead.”
Emily Blunt has already begun to stand her ground on the principle of avoiding nudity in her roles. In Sicario, Emily Blunt appeared nude in a scene with co-star Benicio del Toro, Us Weekly reported before the movie hit theaters in 2015.
The scene was removed at her insistence, the actress explained. Emily Blunt went on to say that Benicio del Toro agreed with the move, backing her decision with the production team.
Deciding to avoid nudity should not prevent Emily Blunt from finding appealing roles in the future. According to the actress, last year’s crop of films exemplified that fact.
“Just look at how many female-driven films were recognized at the Oscars – and how hard it was to figure out who would be in that Best Actress category. It was so thrilling to me that there have been that many brilliant roles for women – and women who are not necessarily in their 20s. Because these films that are just targeting 14-year-old boys… it’s insane! Which is why it’s so important to keep making films for girls and women – and to keep taking risks.”
Her ability to continue to take risks will depend on how Emily Blunt meets her demands at home. Her two-year-old daughter Hazel – and her unborn child – could erode how much time the actress devotes to her craft. Emily Blunt admittedly understands that the “juggle” between her personal responsibilities and her professional career will become harder as time goes by.
Baby bump alert! Emily Blunt glows on the red carpet with her husband @JohnKrasinski. https://t.co/GbArDGOHUa pic.twitter.com/n6U3aPS0U9
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) March 23, 2016
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[Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]
