Emily Blunt has been very busy for the past few years. The actress, who will soon star in Christopher Nolan’s biopic thriller Oppenheimer, is making a drastic decision in her career this year. As a mother of two, Blunt wants to spend more time with her kids.
With all the movie projects and awards under her belt, nothing is more precious to a mother than being there for her children, especially during their formative years. Blunt’s success in the industry is already a testament to her prowess in acting; now, it’s time for her to focus on her personal life.
Emily Blunt Wants To Take A Break From Her ‘Stressed Mother’ Roles
In an interview via iHeartPodcast’s Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi, A Quiet Place star Emily Blunt revealed she would be taking a year-long break from Hollywood:
“I never feel I’m doing it right. This year, I’m not working. I worked quite a bit last year, and my oldest baby is nine, so we’re in the last year of single digits.”
She explained that, as a mother, she has to be present during certain times in her daughters’ lives:
“And I just feel [like] there are cornerstones to their day that are so important when they’re little. And it’s, ‘Will you wake me up? Will you take me to school? Will you pick me up? Will you put me to bed?’ And I just need to be there for all of them for a good stretch. And I just felt that in my bones.”
The 40-year-old Jungle Cruise actress is quite well-versed in portraying the role of a stressed mother, which she was blasted for by an Oppenheimer critic. Remember her childbirth scene in A Quiet Place? What about her portrayal of a wife who cannot conceive a child in the musical film Into the Woods?
Jonathan Dean of The Sunday Times pointed out the lack of female representation and Blunt’s stereotyped role in Oppenheimer via Twitter:
“The downside? The women are badly served – Emily Blunt only once gets out of her stressed mother role. But it’s straight into my Nolan top three, alongside ‘Memento’ & ‘The Prestige.’”
It must have been exhausting for Blunt to keep playing the “stressed mother role” when she has the range of a versatile actress.
Emily Blunt Feels Guilt-Ridden For Devoting More Time At Work
Emily Blunt revealed in the same interview that some of the projects she recently worked on consumed a lot of her time that she could have spent with her children, which made her feel bad:
“I had a beautiful time on the projects I did last year. Some were more tense than others, some were harder than others. Some were more time-consuming than others. The ones that are time-consuming, I think for me are becoming few and further between because of just the emotional cost on me, on the kids, on balance. And I’m very prone to guilt, I think all mothers are. You’re just prone to feeling bad for, god forbid, wanting something outside of being a mother.”
Despite the stress of the job, the Edge of Tomorrow actress admits she loves her profession, though she wants to achieve her other goals in life as well:
“I am a huge advocate for women being ambitious, I love the word ambitions. It’s just dreams with purpose. And I want my kids to grow up and find something they adore doing.”
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, she confessed not wanting her daughters to follow in her footsteps and to stay away from the limelight as much as possible:
“Because it’s a hard industry, and it can be very disappointing. 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.”
Now that Emily Blunt has decided to leave Hollywood for the time being, she will have more time to attend to her personal and home life, and hopefully, she won’t be a stressed mother anymore.
Oppenheimer hits theaters on July 21, 2023.
Sources: iHeartPodcast, Twitter, Harper’s Bazaar UK
