How Emily Blunt Found Her Power

Emily Blunt will never forget the teacher who helped transform how she presented herself to the world. When she was 12-years-old, her teacher, Mr. McHale, asked Blunt if she would consider doing their class play. "I believe it was a play that we had all written,” says the actress. For Blunt, her teacher's request was initially horrifying. 

She had been living with a stutter since she was 6. In fact, her grandfather, uncle, and cousin all had the speech impediment. "It runs really prominently in my family, although no one talked about it, because I'm from an English family where you don't talk about your problems and certainly not about a disability," she shares. "And people are really nervous to embrace that part of themselves or talk about it, at least in my family."

Blunt had been bullied for her stutter and was terrified to speak before her class. "I had a hard time saying my name. I shied away from conversations because it was too difficult to get the words out. I was embarrassed and ashamed. And it really caged me as a child," says Blunt, who stars as Kitty Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer next month opposite Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Josh Hartnett, and Kenneth Branagh.

“And when I spoke, I would do these major mental gymnastics to avoid words that I thought I would stumble on," she adds. "I had so many thoughts I never shared, because I was too embarrassed and worried they wouldn’t come out well.”

Undeterred, Mr. McHale saw that Blunt, who liked to mimic people and do different voices as a child, didn't stutter when she did silly characters. "He said, 'Do a crazy accent and see if you speak more fluently,'" she shares. "A lot of actors who stutter don't stutter when they act. It's almost like you're accessing a different part of your brain. It's really interesting." 

The experience of doing the show was liberating for Blunt, who performed in a kind of Northern British accent in the play. "It was a surreal feeling to not struggle," she recalls. "Usually I was thinking about every single word coming up. I had been so preoccupied with how I was going to say something, it all became compromised.”

Blunt credits McHale for the gift he gave to her, saying, "He was a very intuitive and amazing teacher. And for someone who has never suffered with a stutter, it was remarkable that he picked up on this ... It changed my life and allowed me to speak fluently one of the first times." 

While it would take a few more years for her to realize acting was her calling, Blunt discovered that she wasn't defined by the stutter and that she had more of a handle on it than she thought.

"A great teacher can change your life," says Blunt. "And he clearly had a huge impact on mine." 

Paying it forward in a big way, Blunt continues to make a huge impact on the lives of those who stutter and their families. For more than 15 years, she has been passionately devoted to the American Institute for Stuttering (AIS). Blunt is a proud board member of the non-profit organization, which provides speech therapy and support for people of all ages who stutter. Just this week, she hosted the American Institute for Stuttering's 17th annual gala at New York's 583 Park Avenue.

The American Institute of Stuttering is particularly dedicated to children and adults who are financially challenged and offers them free or reduced-cost therapy.

"Without that financial aid, many of these individuals would never have access to therapy or help," Blunt says. "It is the position of AIS that no one should have to bear the burden of suffering alone. Everyone should have the chance to speak freelly and have their voices heard." 

AIS hopes to educate people on how to approach stuttering therapy, as well. The idea is to lean into stuttering, rather than try to camouflage it.

"Stuttering therapy is ill-defined and a lot of people are getting very poor treatment," explains AIS Executive Director Dr. Heather Grossman, PhD. "It makes them think their role as a speaker is to try to eliminate stuttering. But it's a piece of who you are. Why would you try to hide something that is a part of you?" 

The heartfelt evening included sharing stories from those who stutter, like actor and advocate Marc Winski and 11-year-old Ailyn Wood. "The event is so moving because people feel heard,” says Blunt. "Millions and millions and millions of people around the world stutter. But not enough people talk about stuttering. There isn't enough of a glare on it.”

At this night, a light was shown on Honoree Philip O. Ozuah, MD, PhD, who is president and CEO of Montefiore Einstein Hospital. He spoke about having a pronounced stutter, emigrating from Nigeria, and facing harsh mocking and discrimination. Now, he's a nationally recognized physician, teacher, and author who leads a top hospital with 10,000 physicians that serves millions of diverse patients. 

Singer Amanda Mammana, who wowed the audience, judges, and millions on America's Got Talent with her songs about persistence (and earned her a spot in the show's semi-finals), performed two of her original songs. 

A key component of AIS is self-compassion. And that's also a strong value that Blunt advocates with her two children, who she shares with husband John Krasinski. (In the midst of editing a film, Blunt explained that he was unable to attend.)

”The mantra in my house is be brave and kind,” she shared. “I don't like mean streaks in people. I'm teaching them to dislike that, too. My children are really kind and empathetic. And I'm proud of that part of them." 

As much as Blunt loves AIS and adores talking with parents and chidlren, the feeling is mutual. "Emily is one of the few celebrities who doesn’t talk about stuttering in the past tense. She is willing to say, ‘Just because you don’t see me stuttering anymore doesn’t mean it’s not part of my reality,’" says Grossman. "She owns it as part of who she is and feels it’s something to be proud of." 

Blunt explains that nowadays, she has tools she developed to get past stuttering. "Instead of thinking about the word that I know is going to trip me, I think of the one after it. That gets me through it,” she says. And saying her name is still a struggle. "If I have to make a phone call and someone says, ‘Who's calling?’ I'm steeling myself for it, because there's no substitute for your name and you can't leap over it. You have to declare it. But you think, 'This is who I am.'" 

That message of stepping into yourself was prevalent throughout the night. As Amanda Mammana sang the poignant lyrics in her song, "Broken is Beautiful:" "Strength is born out of those scars / Aimless is purpose / And shame is not who you are / Because broken is beautiful."