Why Emily Blunt Is Taking A Break From Acting After Oppenheimer

Emily Blunt is starring in one of the summer's biggest movies — and after that, she's taking a break for a while.

The British actress revealed, in conversation with Bruce Bozzi on his podcast "Table for Two," that she's set to take some time away from acting now that her latest movie, "Oppenheimer," is set to release soon. Blunt appears in Christopher Nolan's latest epic as Katherine Oppenheimer, wife to Cillian Murphy's J. Robert Oppenheimer... and apparently, that'll be her last role for the next year.

Blunt has two daughters — 7-year-old Violet and 9-year-old Hazel — with her husband John Krasinski, and as she told Bozzi, she wants to enjoy their childhood more fully. "This year, I'm not working," Blunt said. "I worked quite a bit last year and my oldest baby is nine, so we're in the last year of single digits. And I just feel [like] there are cornerstones to their day that are so important when they're little. And it's, 'Will you wake me up? Will you take me to school? Will you pick me up? Will you put me to bed?' And I just need to be there for all of them for a good stretch. And I just felt that in my bones."

Ultimately, Blunt said she feels guilty about potentially missing her daughters' childhoods, and she thinks that's common for moms. "I think maybe all mothers are," the actress said. "You're just prone to feeling bad for, God forbid, wanting something outside of being a mother."

Blunt was clear about wanting to take time away from acting so she could spend more time with her daughters — and it definitely doesn't seem like she wants them to follow her lead and become actors themselves, even though they're the product of two actors (one of whom is also a writer-director). In a June interview with Harper's Bazaar UK ahead of the release of "Oppenheimer," Blunt revealed, "My toes curl when people tell me, 'My daughter wants to be an actress.' I want to say, 'don't do it!' Because it's a hard industry and it can be very disappointing. A lot of people tell you not to take things personally – but it's completely personal, especially when you're being judged on how you look. So you just have to endure that side of things."

It's clear that Blunt, like many women in the public eye trying to balance successful careers and parenthood, is frustrated by the notion that you can't "have it all" — and even though she's unequivocal about this break from acting, she's also as ambitious as ever. Acknowledging to Harper's Bazaar that she's pleased that equal pay has become a bigger discussion in Hollywood, Blunt said, "Ambition is healthy – it shouldn't be seen as a negative thing. It's about knowing your worth and what you bring to a project, and never apologizing for doing well."

When all is said and done, there's no question that Blunt deserves a break considering just how many projects she's filmed lately. She stars in the Amazon miniseries "The English," and beyond "Oppenheimer," Blunt has several major movies already banked; later in 2023, her film "Pain Hustlers," which tells the dark story of the modern pharmaceutical industry and also stars Chris Evans, Andy Garcia, and Catherine O'Hara, arrives in theaters. Her action thriller alongside Ryan Gosling, David Leitch's "The Fall Guy," is set to release in 2024, with Blunt playing the ex-girlfriend to Gosling's stuntman who's trying to direct her own film within the film. She's also reuniting with Krasinski for the ensemble comedy "IF," which is slated for a spring 2024 release and features Ryan Reynolds, Krasinski himself, Fiona Shaw, and Bobby Moynihan alongside voice performances from Blunt, Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and more.

Speaking of Krasinski, there are always mutterings about a third "Quiet Place" movie — and Blunt has starred in both of the films, which Krasinski also wrote and directed. A spin-off prequel starring Lupita Nyong'o, "A Quiet Place: Day One," is on the way, but as far as the original trilogy goes, nothing's been announced yet. For now, though, Blunt has more than earned her time away from acting — though audiences will undoubtedly be happy whenever she chooses to return.