Emily Blunt has spoke movingly about her experience living with a stutter – describing it as something that can “utterly misrepresent” who people are.
The 40-year-old British actor has had issues with speech fluency since childhood. With this communication disorder, a speaker may involuntarily repeat sounds or syllables, make words longer by elongating the first syllable, or have issues saying certain words.
Appearing at the Power of Women Awards on Thursday (16 November), the A Quiet Place star accepted an award that recognised her 17 years of work with the American Institute for Stuttering.
She said: “I am grateful to shed light on [stuttering] because it is a disability that lives very often in the shadows alongside its friends: fear and shame and humiliation.”
According to Variety, the Pain Hustlers actor then noted that stuttering affects around three million people in America and around 80 million people worldwide, before noting that people should stop considering a stutter to be a nervous condition or a psychological issue.
“This is wrong,” Blunt said. “It is neurological, it’s biological, it’s often hereditary and it’s not your fault.”
Emily Blunt— (Getty Images)
Many fans of the actor may be unaware of Blunt having a speech impediment. However, she noted that some phone conversations and unfamiliar environments provide more of a challenge to her stutter.
“Environments challenge me if I’m scared, or if I’m under pressure to persuade or convince, like, don’t ever ask me to pitch you anything ever.”
Blunt also opened up about the complex nature of growing up with a stutter, stating that despite therapy, it’s something that “never really leaves you”.
“A stutter is like an imposter living in your body. Who doesn’t pay rent. And completely and utterly misrepresents who you are as a person,” Blunt told the audience.
Blunt has previously shared her thoughts about how portraying characters affects her stutter, and the importance of sharing more information about the condition more widely.
“I wouldn’t say that’s why I’ve ventured into acting, but it was just a bit shocking the first time I was able to speak, you know, doing a silly voice or an accent pretending to be someone else,” Blunt told People in 2022.
“People don’t talk about [it] enough if it hasn’t got enough exposure, and millions of people around the world struggle with it.”
