‘It can be very disappointing’: Emily Blunt shares her thoughts on the acting industry for women

Megastar British actress Emily Blunt has opened up about her Hollywood career and motherhood in a remarkably candid new interview.

Emily Blunt opened up about her career and motherhood in an interview with Harper's Bazaar. Picture: Harpers Baazar / Tom Schirmacher

Acclaimed British actress Emily Blunt has shed light on the one hope she has for her daughters’ futures as she delves into what it’s really like to be a woman in the acting industry.

After growing up in the spotlight, the mother-of-two revealed she doesn’t want her children to follow in her footsteps, admitting the thought makes her “toes curl”.

Blunt commenced her career in 2001, where she acted in periodic dramas on stage as well as in TV productions including Foyle’s War and Henry VIII.

She shot to fame internationally quite quickly and starred in films Boudica, My Summer of Love and Australian film Irresistible within the span of three years.

Her first most renowned role was alongside Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in the iconic film The Devil Wears Prada in 2006.

Blunt later led a number of award-winning films and TV series in the decade and a half that followed, with her most recent projects being The Girl on the Train, A Quiet Place and Jungle Cruise.

Actress Emily Blunt has opened up about her hopes and dreams for her children. Picture: Angela Weiss / AFP

But despite her success, the praised actress shared she doesn’t want her daughters Hazel, 9 and Violet, 7, to pursue the same pathway she did.

“My toes curl when people tell me, ‘My daughter wants to be an actress’,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.

“I want to say, don’t do it!“

The mum’s wish comes after Blunt had her own experience with an industry she says is not always kind to women.

“It’s a hard industry and it can be very disappointing,” she explained.

“A lot of people tell you not to take things personally – but it’s completely personal, especially when you’re being judged on how you look. So you just have to endure that side of things.“

Blunt admits social media and the internet has made working in the industry even more difficult as such tools have made it hard to escape people’s thoughts and perceptions.

Personally, she’s had to remove herself from such social networking platforms, telling multiple news sites she no longer has any accounts because she doesn’t believe they do any good.

“Social media has changed the landscape so an encounter with you is valued more as a social-media currency than a genuine interaction,” she told Vanity Fair in 2018.

The Mary Poppins star also added she doesn’t believe social media has much of an impact on whether a film will become a smash hit at the box office.

“I don’t think [social media] does sh*t, to be honest,” she said.

“I think a movie lives or dies on word of mouth and the trailer. I have seen people do endless social-media campaigns and the movie tanks, so I don’t see a correlation.”

Emily Blunt opened up about her career and motherhood in an interview with Harper's Bazaar. Picture: Harpers Baazar / Tom Schirmacher

On a more positive note, Blunt did admit she seeks comfort knowing the gender pay gap has become mainstream discussion, which gives her hope for her daughters.

“Ambition is healthy – it shouldn’t be seen as a negative thing,“ she said.

“It’s about knowing your worth and what you bring to a project, and never apologise for doing well.“

While Blunt still pursues acting, she acknowledged she doesn’t do it for fame, rather sharing she’s “completely disassociated” with it.

“When I see myself up on a billboard, I have this complete disassociation with it … I‘m like, who’s that?” she said.

The mother also shared she had a feeling her daughters felt the same way, noting they aren’t “excited” by their mother’s work.

“I can see my children doing the same – they might say, oh, there‘s Mama, but it’s not exciting for them. What’s exciting for them is when I can pick them up from school and take them swimming,” she said.

In regards to her latest project, Blunt will be playing the role of Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film Oppenheimer, which tells the story of a team of scientists who developed the atomic bomb.

“She wasn‘t an easy woman – she definitely didn’t conform to the 1950s housewife ideal, and yet she found herself confined to an ironing board in Mexico’s Los Alamos, which must have driven her mad,” she said.

“I found her so interesting to play, because she was a great scientist herself, but limited by the era she lived in.”

Oppenheimer will be in cinemas in Australia from July 20 this year, and stars Robert Downey Junior, Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh.

Originally published as ‘It can be very disappointing’: Emily Blunt shares her thoughts on the acting industry for women