Filming 2014's Edge of Tomorrow was physically taxing for Emily Blunt, who co-starred in the sci-fi action movie alongside Tom Cruise. Directed by Doug Liman, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic future where a soldier (Cruise) is caught in a time loop during an alien invasion, forced to repeatedly relive his death courtesy of the otherworldly invaders. Hoping to take what he learns from each loop, the human warrior and a comrade (Blunt) team up with the hope of vanquishing the invaders and saving the planet.
The plot of the film calls for its leads to wear heavy armor, and that meant suiting up Blunt and Cruise in bulky, metal suits. For a new interview on the Smartless podcast, Blunt recalled how unhappy she was with the wardrobe, remembering how uncomfortable and heavy her outfit felt. It was so unpleasant that Blunt says she even broke down in tears the very first time she tried on her suit, questioning her ability to do the film.
"We had to wear these really enormous robotic suits, which I think would have been great if they could have CGI'd them, but they wanted to do it practically and in a tactile way. And, you know, when you hear the word tactile, that sounds nice and cozy --- there was nothing cozy about wearing these suits. Mine was like 85 pounds, it was so heavy that the first time I put it on, I just started to cry."
Tom Cruise Offered Some Tough Love... And It Worked
For Blunt, the weight of the suit had her uncontrollably bawling. She felt that she wouldn't have been able to do this movie after all, unable to calm down due to the panic she felt at the moment. According to Blunt, Cruise was there to offer some comfort, but when she wouldn't stop crying, he chose to give her some blunt and vulgar advice. For Blunt, it was exactly what she needed to hear, as it made her laugh and led to the two getting through the production.
"I just started to cry, in front of Tom, and he didn't know what to do. And he just stared at me and was like, 'I know. I know. I know.' And I was like, 'Tommy, I'm not sure how I am going to get through this shoot.' And I started to cry, I was like, 'I'm just feeling a bit panicky about the whole shoot!' He literally goes --- he stared at me for a long time, not knowing what to do, and he goes, 'Come on. Stop being such a p*ssy, okay?' (Laughs.) And I did laugh, and we got through it."
Perhaps, sometimes, what works best is to just avoid the sugar-coating.