When Emily Blunt was filming The Girl On The Train — in which she plays a ravaged, emotionally unstable alcoholic in a permanent state of listlessness and confusion — her co-stars became worried that she was living the role.
‘I was really tired all the time, which is not my normal self, and people thought I’d begun drinking heavily, just to get into character,’ she says.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever played someone who is in such a dark place and truly in the depths of despair.
‘But it wasn’t the part I was playing that made it such a struggle to keep going; what no one knew was that I’d just found out I was pregnant with my second child, but I was determined not to let anyone think I was using that as an excuse.’
The only person on set who knew was Justin Theroux, who plays her ex-husband in his first major movie role. Emily and Justin — married to Jennifer Aniston — are old friends. ‘And he only guessed because I was being a bit of a wuss about some of my scenes, which isn’t like me at all.
‘He said: ‘You’ve done other tough roles before — you battled aliens in Ju. What’s wrong with you? Are you pregnant or something?’
‘I said: ‘Well, yes I am, but don’t tell anyone.’ Eventually, I had to tell the director, Tate Taylor, when we filmed a scene where I am in the bath, and I told him: ‘You have to shoot it from behind.’ When he asked why, I showed him my expanding tummy and said: ‘Because of this.’ By the time filming finished, I was 20 weeks gone!’
London-born Emily, who is married to U.S. actor John Krasinski, gave birth to baby Violet — a sister to two-year-old Hazel — at the end of June.
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