Actor Emily Blunt revealed what she was doing the moment she learned she'd landed her first-ever Academy Award nomination for her work in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer: picking up her dog's poop.
During a conversation with actor and podcaster Josh Horowitz at the 92nd Street Y, Blunt expressed that despite the months-long anticipation and buzz surrounding the Oscars, being referred to as an Academy Award nominee still feels surreal.
Blunt humorously revealed that she had a brief emotional moment in the middle of Brooklyn, right after picking up her dog's poop, adding that her husband, actor and director John Krasinski, also had a heartfelt reaction after assisting with the task:
“It’s all quite scary, the anticipation of it, and I think you just try not to listen to buzz because buzz can be built on sand sometimes. And so when it did happen, and when it happened in such a far-reaching way for all of us in the movie and every crew member, it was magical."
“I did have a brief cry in the middle of Brooklyn, brief weep directly after picking up my dog’s poop. I did pick up her poop and then I heard that I got nominated so it was perfect [and Krasinski] had a really good cry as well, after helping me with the poop. I think he went and put it in the trash and then we both cried.”
Sure, the moment she found out about the Oscar nod wasn't exactly glamorous but that doesn't mean social media users didn't love it anyway.
Blunt, nominated for her performance as biologist Kitty Oppenheimer—the troubled alcoholic wife of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, played in the film by Cillian Murphy—spoke about her connection to the character and the challenges she faced portraying the role:
“I think there was so much about her that I empathize with — the idea of that extraordinary brain wasted and decaying at the ironing board and the anger and the simmering rage that would follow."
"She kind of raged against the machine as best she could but there’s only so much I think she could do, and then she married this icon and clearly worshipped him, loved him, supported him, was there, a hugely stabilizing force in his life and yet she was so unstable. I think she bled for him, but I think to her own detriment.”
Blunt, who also starred in this year's Pain Hustlers, also addressed the possibility of sequels to some of her iconic films, such as The Devil Wears Prada, Sicario, and Edge of Tomorrow, noting that only the lattermost—at least at this moment in time—stands a chance of being made.
She also expressed a willingness to consider directing in the future but noted that while she's "becoming increasingly interested," that it's a decision she is still contemplating.