Actors Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway have had a momentous year with their films Oppenheimer and Eileen being acclaimed, with particular focus on their performances. The two actresses have previously featured together early in their careers in the legendary comedy The Devil Wears Prada.
The film saw them starring along with Meryl Streep, paying their ice-cold boss Miranda Priestly. Streep’s performance earned her an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award. However, the film seems to have affected the legendary actress’ career differently as she reportedly quit method acting after the film.
Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly In The Devil Wears Prada
Based on a novel by Lauren Weisberger, The Devil Wears Prada featured Meryl Streep as the menacing editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine Runaway. The character was reportedly based on Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Weisberger’s experiences as her assistant during her first job.
Streep is the antagonist in the film, which sees Anne Hathaway’s Andrea Sachs joining as an assistant to Miranda and going through the psychological torture put forth by the icy-cold editor-in-chief. The film also starred Emily Blunt as her first assistant. It was a commercial and critical success, earning $326 million globally and won Streep a Golden Globe Award.
Meryl Streep reportedly used the Method while playing the role of Miranda Priestly and co-stars Hathaway and Blunt recalled in an interview that though Streep was staying in character even off-camera, she never made them feel uncomfortable. Hathaway said to Entertainment Weekly,
“I did feel intimidated, but I always felt cared for. I knew that whatever she was doing to create that fear, I appreciated [because] I also knew she was watching out for me.”
Blunt also mentioned that Streep was approachable during filming and just gave them the cold shoulder at times. However, using the Method in The Devil Wears Prada was reportedly not as fun for Meryl Streep.
Also read: Anne Hathaway Reacts To Controversial Theory About Shakespeare Being Reincarnated as Her Husband
Anne Hathaway And Emily Blunt Made Meryl Streep Quit Method Acting
Actors Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt recently got together for a talk as part of Variety’s Actors on Actors talk show. While talking about their respective performances of the year, they also reminisced about their memories of working on The Devil Wears Prada. The actresses read out some of the iconic lines from the film and told the stories behind them.
Many of the lines and one-liners were reportedly improvised by the actors during the takes, which director David Frankel kept in the edit. The actresses spoke about breaking character during takes and also how they knew that co-star Meryl Streep wanted to join in the fun but could not as she wanted to maintain character.
Blunt then revealed that Meryl Streep had not gone Method after The Devil Wears Prada as she did not want to be alienated from such fun times during filming. She said,
“Do you know she’s never done Method acting since? She said it made her so miserable on this one because we were all having a party on the other side of the set. And she was like, “I won’t do this again.”
Streep also admitted this in the interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying that she was depressed after being stuck alone in her trailer while the rest of the cast were having the time of their lives. While the actress has received more Academy Award nominations since she has never gone Method after the legendary comedy.
