Emily Blunt On Why Meryl Streep Gave Up Method Acting After The Devil Wears Prada

For all The Devil Wears Prada fans out there, it is truly hard to imagine anyone other than Meryl Streep essaying the iconic role of Miranda Priestly. Even though David Frankel’s directorial was released in 2006, the veteran Hollywood star playing the bossy fashion magazine editor will be remembered by the generations to come. Now, Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway, who essayed prominent roles in the film, reunited and shared some insights about working with Meryl Streep.

During Variety’s Actor On Actor segment, the two Hollywood actresses opened up about Meryl Streep’s acting process on the sets of The Devil Wears Prada. This is not all Emily revealed that Meryl Streep’s approach of method acting made her miserable on the sets.

A post shared by Anne Hathaway (@annehathaway)

Walking down memory lane, Emily Blunt said, “Do you know she’s never done method acting since? She said it made her so miserable on this one. Because we were having a party on the other side of the set, and she said, ‘I won’t do this again.’” Adding to Emily’s statement and sharing another anecdote, Anne Hathaway said, “Do you remember she’ll be Meryl in the morning during rehearsals? The blonde hair… Mike Nichols (Meryl’s Heartburn director) once described it as ‘the irrepressible spring.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my god, that’s so good.’ And then she would just be that person, and then she would come back and be this block of ice.”

Meanwhile, one of the producers of The Devil Wears Prada, Wendy Finerman on Hollywood Gold Podcast revealed that Meryl Streep almost didn’t get the role of Miranda Priestly. Yes, you read that right. Wendy claimed that the veteran star almost lost her iconic role as someone involved in the production thought that “she has never been funny a day in her life.” Continuing further, Wendy said that while all producers wanted Anne Hathaway to essay her character, when it came to Meryl Streep they weren’t sold.

The producer said, “And Meryl, people thought we were crazy. I mean, I had people call me up and say, ‘Are you out of your mind? She’s never been funny a day in her life.” After witnessing Meryl Streep’s performance, the producer claimed it to be the “part of the fun of the unexpected.”

Apart from Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway, The Devil Wears Prada featured Stanley Tucci, Adrian Grenier and Simon Baker in prominent roles.