Emily Blunt plays a ballerina who is forced to fight her own fate in her new film, “The Adjustment Bureau,” but in reality, the British beauty feels incredibly grateful for the way her destiny has played out.
“I look back with gratitude to a lot of stuff that’s happened [to me],” Emily told Access Hollywood at the junket for “The Adjustment Bureau” in New York City on Friday. “At the time it seemed awful and so upsetting, but when you look back you’re like, ‘Thank God I didn’t get into that school, because if I had gone to that school, I never would have got into drama, I’d never be here.’
“So I look back at those times that I remember as a teenager when I was reeling around the kitchen being like, ‘‘I’m a failure, I didn’t get into that school’, but it’s actually what led me here,” she added. “It all works out.”
The 27-year-old actress revealed she had only eight short weeks to learn how to dance for the role, but credits the extreme training for her killer Award-show-gown-ready physique.
“It definitely was daunting and there’s something uber-embarrassing about learning how to dance in front of people who can dance, and they’re looking at you going, ‘Wow, you really can’t dance,’ and that was a lot,” Emily told Access. “It’s very embarrassing, almost to do something physically that you are horrible at.
“And then as the weeks went on and I gathered confidence, it really was an extraordinary experience in the end to overcome something, and overcome your own insecurities, fears and pride,” she continued. “Suddenly you feel a dancer, and you start to look like one.”
However, earning her new lean bod came with a bit of a price – in the form of a few injuries.
“You get dropped, you bruise your knees, calves, and ankles,” Emily told Access. “I threw my back out; I threw my shoulder out…I got lots of massages!
“It was worth it, I guess, for [the result],” she added. “It was blood, sweat, and tears though.”
As for her handsome co-star, Matt Damon, Emily said working with the Academy Award-winner was nothing short of “amazing.”
“[Matt] is the worst guy ever,” Emily said, jokingly. “He’s actually Captain Delightful! He is the coolest guy and my friend and I just love him. He was amazing to work with and we laughed so hard and I think that really makes the experience.”
Emily wasn’t the only one who found Matt mesmerizing – his star power distracted the film’s background actors as well.
“Most of the time there was a guy on the loudspeaker yelling, ‘Do not look at Matt Damon!’ because all the extras were just staring at him,” she laughed. “When they meet Matt, he’s a massive movie star. I feel like I see people’s brains melting when they see him!”
See Emily and Matt on the big screen when “The Adjustment Bureau” opens on March 4.
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