I know some of you don’t really give a crap about Emily Blunt, but I like her and I think she’s one of most talented young actresses out there. Even though she didn’t end up getting an Oscar nomination for her lead role in The Young Victoria (in which she played the young Queen Victoria, obviously), Blunt’s career is still going full steam ahead. Next up for her is Wolfman, where she plays the girlfriend (I think) of Benicio del Toro’s wolf-y character. Blunt was profiled in the LA Times Magazine (these are those photos) this week, and she professes that she tells “the airbrusher” not to make her any thinner for photo shoots:

Gossip reporters are often complaining that there are disappointingly few paparazzi shots of you doing anything naughty. Is there an art to staying off the tabloid radar?
People are like, “We want to see her fall on her face not wearing underwear.” That sounds just awful. They can clamor for those pictures, but I am determined not to reveal any of that. I did manage to smash the front of my Prius the other day. I hit a curb.

Did the paps nail you?
I don’t think so. But they are sneaky. They will get you when you least want to be gotten.

During shooting for The Devil Wears Prada, you had a habit of showing up on set whether you had a call time on that day or not. Is directing in your future?
It was my first really big feature. To see things move like a well-oiled machine is so interesting. But I was lonely as well. I knew no one [in the area] apart from people on the set—and it was a riot. I was in heaven every day working on that movie.

I found a headline from that year. I’ll read it, and you give me your reaction: “Devil Wears Prada Forced Emily Blunt to Emaciate Herself.” Yeah, that’s another story I thought got blown out of proportion. With Hollywood, you say one thing, and that’s what can happen. I was definitely encouraged to lose weight—not because I was overweight but because I was playing a character who was edge-of-ill thin. She literally doesn’t eat. I couldn’t turn up with love handles, but it wasn’t like doughnuts were snatched out of my hand.

You admire the Denches and Mirrens, of course, but you really desire to be like Cate Blanchett. Why?
Well, I want to do my own thing and not emulate anyone else, but I am fully admiring of what Cate has done. She is so compelling to watch, so chameleon-like, that she is able to lose herself in any part. And there is no vanity—not a shred of self- consciousness. There are people out there who make really brave choices. That’s why I singled out Cate. That’s also why I like Benicio Del Toro and the choices he has made.

Is he the main reason you signed on for The Wolfman?
Yeah, Benicio and Anthony Hopkins. Those two guys are top of my list—favorite actors, favorite performances. When I heard they were both doing it, it was a double-whammy of intrigue. I knew it was a commercial script, and I knew exactly what I was getting into. I actually liked the script. Sometimes it’s not only about the story, the character, the director. It is often about who I am working with. You really are only as good as your costars.

I heard you once instructed a photographer not to airbrush you—that can’t be right, can it?
I told him not to make me thinner. I hate when your legs are three times the length they actually are. I heard they could raise your nipples if you have a slightly see-through top, lift your bum—they can do everything. I can understand there are things like shadows they need to fix after a shoot, but it’s unfair to represent an image of yourself if it’s not true. They’re gonna see what you look like on film anyway, so why try to cover all your wobbly bits in a photo?

[From The Los Angeles Times]

She comes across as very down-to earth, doesn’t she? Also, she has that sort of stereotypical (but still charming) English sensibility of “I don’t take myself too seriously, and neither should you.” I love what she says about her “wobbly bits” although I think she has a very healthy, lean figure. Sure, she’s slender, but she looks like a girl who eats and drinks beer and will fight you for the last onion ring. Which is nice!

Photos courtesy of the Los Angeles Times Magazine.