Blunt named British Artist of the Year

'Victoria' star's winning portrayal eschews all snoot

By CAROLE HORST

HUMANIZING: After her research into the part, Emily Blunt was determined to show the passion of 'The Young Victoria.' Avoiding haughtiness might keep the actress from being pigeonholed.

Emily Blunt burst onto the industry's radar in Pawel Pawlikowski's 2004 "My Summer of Love," a much-feted coming-of-ager, but she really turned heads in international multiplexes as the imperious, tightly strung assistant to Meryl Streep's even more imperious Miranda Priestly in hit "The Devil Wears Prada."

But the Britannia British Artist of the Year designee's recent role as the royal title character in "The Young Victoria" doesn't have an ounce of snootiness.

"What I found fascinating was the world she lived in," Blunt says. "She was constantly under duress. She was living a life under the glare of the public. I wanted to do her justice, and show the passion and love in her life -- show the other side of her life."

Filmgoers accustomed to seeing the dour, black-clad queen will find Blunt offering them an emotional, passionate young woman underneath the imperial public face.

"After all the research, once you see the humanity in the person, and what they did and how they felt, they become familiar to you," she notes. "I wanted to play her as the girl and not the queen."

Blunt, who besides "The Young Victoria" has "The Wolfman" in the wings, says, "I honestly still feel daunted by almost any job." She adds that she loves to mix up her roles as much as she can, to "try not to pigeonhole myself."

In "The Adjustment Bureau," based on a Philip K. Dick story, she plays a ballerina, and as for what's up next: "I really have no idea. I want to be lazy for a while and eat whatever I want!"