Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘It makes me roll my eyes’: Emily Blunt on the ‘worst thing ever’ to see in a script

Actor said she is ‘bored’ if she sees these three words on the page

Ellie Harrison
Monday 14 November 2022 01:32 EST
Comments
The English trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Emily Blunt has revealed what she dreads seeing in film and TV scripts.

The actor can currently be seen in BBC Two drama The English, starring as a woman on a revenge mission in 1890s America who collides with Chaske Spencer’s Eli Whipp, a Pawnee-born ex-US army officer on an adventure of his own.

In a four-star review for The Independent, Nick Hilton wrote that the series is “pure, delicious, American cheese that, at its best, feels like a Coen brothers creation”.

Speaking to The Telegraph in a new interview, Blunt said: “I love a character with a secret. And I loved Cornelia’s buoyancy, her hopefulness, her guilelessness.”

She added: “It’s the worst thing ever when you open a script and read the words ‘strong female lead’. That makes me roll my eyes – I’m already out. I’m bored.

“Those roles are written as incredibly stoic, you spend the whole time acting tough and saying tough things.

“Cornelia is more surprising than that. She’s innocent without being naive and that makes her a force to be reckoned with. She startles Eli out of his silence and their differences become irrelevant because they need each other to survive. I thought that was very cool.”

Chaske Spencer and Emily Blunt in ‘The English’
Chaske Spencer and Emily Blunt in ‘The English’ (BBC)

In another recent interview, Blunt said her actor brother-in-law, Stanley Tucci, “loves” his sex symbol status.

Tucci has been married to literary agent Felicity, who is Blunt’s older sister, since 2012.

The English is out in full now on BBC iPlayer.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in