Top 10 Emily Blunt Performances

This offbeat comedy sees Blunt in another sibling role, as her character pairs up with her sister, played by Amy Adams, to set up a crime scene cleaning business. The actress dabbles with some dark comedy here, and totally nails it. Her downbeat character Norah experiences it all - anger, sadness and confusion - as her job proves a testing choice of career paths. Balancing Norah’s vulnerability with some straight-up comedy moments, it’s one of the more unusual movies that Blunt has been a part of.

Next, Blunt plays a financial adviser who enlists the help of a fisheries expert to bring - you guessed it - salmon fishing to the Yemen. As Harriet, Blunt’s trying to focus on the titular task at hand, but she also has to cope with a separation from her boyfriend, who it turns out is missing in action from the British Special Forces. So, with quite a bit on her plate, Blunt’s skill shines through as she juggles a range of challenging emotions, reeling us in to the drama and keeping us hooked until the end.

This sci-fi flick appealed to both genre enthusiasts and the general public thanks to a wildly inventive premise. But Blunt provides one of the film’s best parts, playing the hero everyone needs. Or at least, that Tom Cruise needs. Helping to show Cruise’s character how to fight, Blunt’s Rita is a true force to be reckoned with, inexhaustibly putting everyone else through their paces. Keep up or pay the consequences? We’ll try!

After meeting US Senate contender David on a chance encounter, Blunt’s Elise is thrown into a world of weirdness here. Because the problem is, these two are not supposed to be together - according to the very ominous-sounding ‘Plan’. Amidst all the chaos and sinister plotting, it might have been easy for the actual lives and personalities of these main characters to feel drowned out. But Blunt more than holds her own, thanks to Elise’s determination to lead a normal life - which is easier said than done.

Proving once and for all that this actress can tackle just about anything that Hollywood screenwriters throw at her, in “Looper” Blunt plays a gun-toting single mum who’s hell-bent on protecting her son at all costs. Set against the backdrop of a time-twisting narrative, she comes into her own during the second half of this edge-of-your-seat movie, as the so-called loopers attempt to encroach on her home. But Sara makes it known that they’re definitely not welcome. She’s clearly not someone you should cross.

From sci-fi shoot ‘em ups, to period dramas at the Palace. Blunt takes to the throne as Queen Victoria next, exploring the early and more turbulent years of her reign. Ditching her often-heard American accent and firmly planting herself on British soil, Blunt paints a colourful picture of the monarch, while also showing the delicate yet passionate relationship she shared with her husband. The regal role actually earned the actress several award nominations - and the high praise was highly deserved.

This film gained massive mainstream attention, with Meryl Streep’s portrayal of a hard-nosed fashion boss taking centre stage for a movie that earned nearly 10 times its budget at the box office. And Blunt’s role is equally eyebrow-raising, as she plays a character that we don’t immediately warm to. Playing one of Miranda Priestly’s passive aggressive assistants, she makes life difficult for Anne Hathaway on a daily basis. She’s got a particular penchant for snarky comments, and we enjoyed every single one of them.

Based on the bestselling novel of the same name, “The Girl on the Train” follows the story of Rachel as she journeys to and from work everyday. But this is no ordinary commute. Played by Blunt, Rachel becomes fascinated with an incident she claims to witness on her travels. But we’re soon forced to severely question her version of events. Do we sympathise with her? Should we be cautious of her? As an especially unreliable narrator and definitely complex character, Blunt has us glued to the screen until the very end.

We’ve had just about every other movie genre on this countdown, so why not sci-fi horror, too? Starring opposite John Krasinski - her real-life husband - “A Quiet Place” sees Blunt thrown into an apocalyptic world where even the slightest sound really could get you killed. But Emily’s character Evelynn refuses to give up hope, as she strives to keep her family safe. Throw a constantly crying newborn baby into the equation, and the odds are as slim as Emily’s performance is sensational. It’s nail-biting stuff, thanks largely to Blunt’s brilliance in the high-tension moments.

We finish with a crime thriller which paints a harrowing picture of the violence inspired by a clash between Mexican drug cartels and law enforcement along the US/Mexico border. By following Blunt’s Kate Macer, we’re ruthlessly thrown right into the thick of it. As she survives one gruelling situation after another, from being shot at to being throttled, Blunt expertly navigates Macer’s bleak and brutal journey - balancing the character’s internal conflict with her increasingly dangerous situation. It’s high-octane, and bloody brilliant.