LOS ANGELES – Looking forward to seeing Emily Blunt in Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan (out July 23) e A Quiet Place: Day One together with her husband John Krasinski (in 2024), this time we meet her at the new headquarters of Amazon Studios in Culver City, California, to talk with her about a role that, although it almost went unnoticed – to use her words – stole her the soul. We are talking about The English, series in six episodes written and directed by Hugo Blick released on Prime Video in America and in Italy on Paramount +. After fifteen years of filmmaking, Blunt returns to a TV role later Gideon’s Daughterof 2006. In The Englishplays Cornelia Locke, a British aristocrat who arrives in the New World in 1890, loaded with trunks and elegant clothes, suitcases of money and one goal: to avenge the death of her son.
We see her shortly after her arrival, when she runs into Eli Whipp (played by Chaske Spencer, an actor who has a mix of Sioux, Nez Perce, Cherokee, Creek, French and Dutch blood), a character inspired by real-life Pawnee cavalry scouts and employed by the United States Army in the second half of the 19th century to aid in ongoing conflicts between the settlers and the natives. In addition to Toby Jones, Ralf Spall, Nichola McAuliffe and Ciarán Hinds, the cast also includes Native American actors such as Gary Farmer, Kimberly Guerrero and Tonantzin Carmelo. The English, co-produced by the BBC and Amazon Studios, sees the actress for the first time in the role of executive producer. Here’s what she told us.
THE PROJECT – “How did I get involved? Hugo Blick, writer and director of the series, sent me the pilot script. I think he just wanted to see what I thought of the story. I fell in love with him. He stole my soul. I said it plainly: I signed on the second page of the script. Then they asked me to produce it and from there every step has been a joy. As for the production, I was probably more helpful in the post-production phase, initially I was immersed in acting. I was looking for a long-term type of storytelling where you can go on a journey. All the best projects and characters are on TV, stories that don’t have to bow to the need to do well in their first week at the box office; in a sense, the series are not concerned with being palatable. And then I was interested in having the reaction not only from friends, but also from colleagues and strangers who now stop me on the street to tell me they’ve seen The English on a weekend. It’s been a while since I’ve experienced a reaction like this.”
PRODUCTION – «Wanting to produce may seem like vanity. But that was not the case in this case. It has been a love story and every aspect of this work has fascinated me. I loved the editing, sweating every frame. So, yes, I would love to produce again if I was offered an early stage project like this. I have to be challenged when I read it for the first time. I want to feel involved but also discover my character until I get to know him deeply. I’ve never been so in love with a character I’ve played before: I think Cornelia is extraordinary and difficult to read, as all human beings are in times of difficulty. For me it was funny, human and real. She doesn’t conform to any kind of strong female character ideal.”
THE WEST – “I grew up watching westerns. One of the first? Yellow Fang by Robert Stevenson, memory of my childhood, followed by The Knight of the Lonely Valley by George Stevens. Later I loved The ruthless by Clint Eastwood. Usually in Westerns there are characters trying to restore some sort of justice and I think people love that aspect: having a mission, wanting to restore a rematch. I also believe that the robust nature of a Western is that it has a theatrical nature. You are outside a rigid reality. In this case preparation noIt wasn’t long, we had a week to discuss the scenes. Chaske and I had a long talk with Hugo. Then we sat in a room and read the script. There I think I perceived what was being born and how it was being built given that Hugo gave us the freedom to abandon prudence and propose ideas after ideas….».
THE SET – «I think the choice to shoot in Spain was excellent for several reasons. First of all for the tax breaks, which are precious. And then it was the place where the old spaghetti westerns were filmed. It offers a mythical landscape, resembling the plains of Kansas and then, towards the north, Wyoming. We had an almost entirely Spanish crew which was amazing, with very good horse masters. Besides, it was hellishly hot, and the glint of sweat is definitely something you want to see on screen. There is an atmosphere that is created on a film set when you are in a place that is inaccessible to anyone who is not part of that world. And I love that there’s that pressure, when people can’t go home every night. We were staying in places in the middle of nowhere. We spent a week in Madrid, the rest of the time we spent outdoors, totally isolated…».
THE NATIVES – “On set, we worked closely with IllumiNative, a Native-led racial and social justice organization, and members of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma who served as cultural advisors. At the end of filming they told me that they were usually asked about films or series after they were finished and they never felt appreciated. Also Hugo, whose research has been very thorough, told me: “I can do all the intellectual research I want, but I need to come to a visceral perspective and experience and this is only achieved by talking to the consultants of Wilmington we had.” From what they told us it was a rare experience for them. So yes, in The English authenticity was a fundamental aspect…».
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- VIDEOS | Here the trailer of The English: