“It really is a curse”: the genre Emily Blunt called the eternal scourge of the British film industry
It might sound like a sweeping generalisation, but if it’s good enough for Emily Blunt, then it’s good enough for us to suggest that certain actors from certain countries face certain rites of passage.
If you’re an aspiring thespian from Australia who fancies making it in Hollywood one day, then you’re almost obligated to spend a bit of time as a recurring character in either Home and Away or Neighbours, and in many cases, both of the country’s marquee soap operas and talent pipelines.
Meanwhile, Salma Hayek, Sofía Vergara, Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal, and Eiza González are just some of the Mexican-born stars who began their acting careers on telenovelas before working their way up to feature films and eventually becoming regular fixtures in American movies and TV shows.
As for the Brits, it’s either Shakespeare or period dramas, although the two often go hand in hand. There’s barely an English actor in the business, past or present, who hasn’t trodden the boards in a historical piece before hitting it big, but as far as Blunt was concerned, it needs to be a short-term thing only.
It’s easy to see why, because if someone becomes famous for squeezing themselves into a corset and wearing a gigantic frock while carousing around a palatial estate or three, it’s hard to break out of that mould. Just ask Helena Bonham Carter, who experienced much the same thing before she finally managed to establish herself outside of the quaint little pictures that threatened to define her.
“At one time, I’d been stuck in so many corsets for so many roles, I used to fantasise about jeans at work,” Blunt explained. “It really is a curse for British actresses. People like to stick us in corsets.” Despite that, and the body of work she’s accumulated since then to ensure that she’s got no chance of being remembered as a corseted actor only, the Academy Award nominee isn’t against a return.
“I’m not saying ‘never,'” she opined. “When something like The Young Victoria comes along, of course, I’ll say ‘yes’. But the one thing I don’t want to happen is to end up doing one thing.” Fortunately, since The Devil Wears Prada transformed her fortunes two decades ago, those corsets have been few and far between.
The Wolfman sort of counts, since it was set in 1891, and she was required to wear era-appropriate garb, but that was a fantastical horror flick. The same goes for Gulliver’s Travels, what with her character being a princess and all, but in the last 15 years or so, the only time Blunt has been required to lace up a corset was in the 2022 miniseries, The English, so it’s safe to say that she’s long since left those days behind.
That’s just the way the business works, unfortunately; if you’re a young, female, British actor and you’re not in a position to turn your nose up at the roles that come your way, then starring in at least one period piece is as unavoidable as it gets.
