Emily Blunt: I’m not quitting Hollywood — just taking a little bit of downtime

The star of Christopher Nolan’s nuclear epic Oppenheimer discusses sexism in cinema, her support for the strikes and speaking a secret language with her sister

Emily Blunt at the UK premiere of Oppenheimer. Picture: Ian West/PA Wire

When Emily Blunt was 13, she was in the chorus of the school play. Then the lead fell ill. Could she learn The Caucasian Chalk Circle overnight? No need! “She was already off-book,” says her sister, Felicity Blunt. “Em had been watching the whole time in rehearsal, not gossiping like everyone else.” 

Felicity, 17 months her senior, is a literary agent. When she reads manuscripts, she says: “If I’m thinking: ‘Is it good?’ it’s not good. If it’s great, you can’t stop thinking about it.” Such was the case seeing her little sister smash Brecht in the gym that night. “It was just incredible. She made it look so easy.”