Quite frequently, actors and other famous folk can seem like they are never nervous or even remotely intimidated by working with those in their chosen profession who have even more recognizable names and have been in the game for way longer. So, it’s nice when people like recent first time Oscar nominee Emily Blunt open up about their anxious moments at work and how they got through them. Blunt recently revealed that she had big nerves while making The Devil Wears Prada, but co-star Meryl Streep gave her confidence in a sweet moment.
How Did Meryl Streep Help Emily Blunt While Making The Devil Wears Prada?
Even though Emily Blunt had several movie and TV roles under her belt by the time the hit, The Devil Wears Prada, was released in 2006, she was far from the household name she quickly became after her star-making turn in that film. However, just because her harried and somewhat snooty head-assistant-to-the-Devil-in-charge, Emily, was uber confident in her role as Miranda Priestly’s go-to girl doesn’t mean that Blunt herself was immediately good to go when working on the film.
The star recently spoke with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, and said her table read for the movie “was hell” because of her nerves, and added:
The table read was hell. Meryl Streep was there. I was 22, it was really scary. I just remember that sweaty-palmed feeling of turning the pages and knowing my first line was coming up, you know, [Gasps]. I don’t think Meryl had even entered the movie at that point. I was just terrified.
The Oppenheimer cast member is correct that she appears on screen in several scenes before we get a full taste of what it will be like to work for Streep’s Miranda, as Emily welcomes Anne Hathaway’s Andy into the Runway offices for her interview. And, Emily wastes zero seconds in sizing Andy up as She Who Does Not Belong, while still giving the out-of-her-depth college grad some necessary info.
Obviously, Streep is a true acting legend, having not just starred in dozens of movies across 40+ years, but is also the most Academy Award nominated actor we’ve seen, with her total being a whopping 21 nominations (so far). It’s clear that the woman is about her (no longer method) acting business, so who wouldn’t be at least a teensy bit nervous the very first time they have to perform in front of her? I’m kinda terrified for Blunt just thinking about it, and this happened nearly 20 years ago! She continued:
And then I remember I said my first line, which I think was ‘Human resources certainly have an odd sense of humor.’ … And I remember Meryl going, [gives slight chuckle]. And I was so grateful. It was just this little chortle she gave, and it was just really reassuring.
First of all, don’t you just love that she remembers her first line from the movie? Secondly, it really must have felt like a solid win to get a chuckle out of Streep the very first time she opened her mouth in front of her while in character. Who knows if she could tell that Blunt was packed with nerves and purposely gave her some positive reinforcement, or if she was honestly just really delighted with how she delivered in that moment. Either way, it helped the actress make it through and give the performance that turned her into one of our biggest stars today.