Emily Blunt has said that women actors are under more pressure to be “likable” compared to their male counterparts.
The Hollywood star, 40, also said she believed male actors were not held to the same standards as women in a new interview with The Guardian.
Blunt said: “I think there is still a pressure to be likeable [for women], and sort of warm and understood, and men are not held to that same standard. No one cared if Leonardo DiCaprio was likable in The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Blunt – the star of The Devil Wears Prada, Sicario and Edge of Tomorrow – said women in Hollywood are often labelled negatively when speaking openly.
Asked if women are more forthright, the actress explained: “Yes, but I could equally generalise and say a lot of women tend to try to dance around things because we’re not often given a platform to speak honestly.
“Or you’re considered too ambitious or emotional if someone appears to be speaking their mind with a spirited opinion.”
Blunt, who has two daughters, Hazel, nine, and Violet, six, with her actor husband John Krasinski, also clarified some recent comments she made about stepping back from work to spend more time with her family.
Speaking to the Table for Two podcast earlier this month, Blunt said: “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.
“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.”
She said in her most recent interview: “I’m not quitting Hollywood. It’s OK, guys. Just taking a little bit of downtime.”
This weekend is the opening weekend of Blunt’s latest project, Oppenheimer.
Christopher Nolan’s latest biographical thriller follows physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in developing the first atomic bomb on the same day. Blunt plays his wife, Kitty.
Cinema brand Odeon has said one million customers are expected at its cinemas this week following the release of the movie, alongside Margot Robbie’s Barbie.
Both films were released on Friday, which has given rise to cinemagoers purchasing back-to-back tickets for what has been dubbed Barbenheimer.
The film chain reports that more than 200,000 advance tickets were purchased and more than 10,000 guests are expected to see both films in opening weekend.
The company said both productions are its biggest films of the year so far for advance sales.
Suzie Welch, Odeon’s interim managing director of UK and Ireland, said: “We have been amazed by the response from guests in the run-up to this Friday, as excitement for the summer 2023 slate, led by Barbie, Oppenheimer and Mission: Impossible 7, continues to build, showcasing what the big-screen experience is all about.
“As we prepare for the biggest weekend of the year, whether you are dressed in roller blades and head-to-toe pink, preparing for a three-hour epic, or combining the two, we know that our guests are going to be both blown away and dazzled by the experience at Odeon.”
