Emily Blunt recalls the hardest part of playing Rachel in 'The Girl On The Train'
By: Gibson Johns
Emily Blunt is well aware of the massive undertaking she was about to take on when she signed on to play Rachel, the protagonist in the upcoming film "The Girl On The Train," based on the worldwide best-seller by the same name.
The film, out Oct. 7, is one of the most highly-anticipated flicks of the year, and Blunt knows that her interpretation of its central character, whose intense struggle with alcohol addiction clouds her memory and throws her life off the rails, wouldn't be met with universal acclaim. And she's okay with that.
"Everybody has quite strong ownership of these characters because it's so personal when you read a book," she explained to AOL last week. "It's your own imagination, and it's your own journey you go on, so inevitably I'm sure the idea of my playing [Rachel] was going to be met with some resistance."
"I might not be your Rachel, but I guess I could only do my version of her," she continued. "This is mine, and I just hope people accept that that's all I can do."
See photos of Emily Blunt at the "The Girl On The Train" premiere:
The gripping, intentionally-disjointed film, directed by Tate Taylor, follows Blunt's Rachel as she watches a "seemingly perfect couple" from the commuter Metro-North train as it passes through a New York City suburb. When one of the objects of her fascination disappears, she struggles to recall details and occurrences as a result of her alcohol-fueled antics, and subsequently gets involved in the police's investigation.
As Blunt explained to us, "even if I don't agree with the things that she does, I have to understand her and empathize with the fact that she's taken life's setbacks harder than most people."
One of the most difficult aspects of tackling the challenging role was playing drunk in a convincing, effective manner.
"Really hard," the actress proclaimed with a laugh when we asked her about portraying someone who's always inebriated. "I think it is tough because I think it can look comical, and I did not want people laughing in the movie theater."
"I think when you're up close with a real drunk -- and I have been up close with a real drunk -- I think it's quite a scary thing," she elaborated. "It's quite uncomfortable to be around somebody like that. That's more what I looked for: How can I be most unsettling to be around?"
And unsettling she was. For more of our interview with Emily Blunt, watch the video above. "The Girl On The Train" hits theaters nationwide this week, on Oct. 7.
Tate Taylor and Paula Hawkins recently stopped by AOL to talk about "The Girl On The Train":
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