During our Mary Poppins Returns event, we had an exclusive interview with Emily Blunt, who plays THE Mary Poppins!
Exclusive Interview With Emily Blunt
In Mary Poppins Returns, we spend time with one of the most iconic Disney characters to ever grace the screen. Emily shared with us how it felt to take on this role, as well as other set secrets we were dying to know.
Emily’s Favorite Costume
In Mary Poppins Returns, there are a plethora of amazing costumes, and lots of them are word by Emily. When asked which costume was her favorite, she references a special costume she wears during a dance sequence with lamplighters.
“I remember Rob Marshall really wanted a Ginger Rogers type of look to that, and it’s not actually accurate to the time period to have a skirt open up like that. So that’s were the great (Costume Designer) Sandy Powell created all those very tight pleats so that it looked very chic and straight lined.”
Embracing The Role of Mary Poppins
To take on the iconic role of Mary Poppins must have been so overwhelming, but Emily says she didn’t let the weight of it all get to her. That is, until, the arrival scene in Mary Poppins Returns. That’s when she allowed herself to embrace the role.
“I am dangling 60 feet from a crane, and Rob Marshall played the amazing orchestral music from the speakers. I think that was the moment because I had the coat, the hat, the umbrella, the feet, the kite.”
When Dick Van Dyke Sang To Emily Blunt
Dick Van Dyke makes an appearance in Mary Poppins Returns, and Emily had the chance to spend time with him. When asked what it was like to work with Dick Van Dyke, she says he’s a “gorgeous human.”
“It was so overwhelming, I have to say, because he’s so sprightly and cool. He walked on the set and said ‘I feel the same sprit here that was there on the first movie.’ Of course we all wanted to cry. We’d sit around him and want him to tell us stories about the original (Mary Poppins).”
Then it happened. Dick sang to Emily.
“He sang Jolly Holiday to me. I was just like ‘that’s it. I could die now. That’s it. I could die now and be happy.’ It’s just a lights out, awesome moment.”
Playing The Book Version of Mary Poppins
The PL Travers series of Mary Poppins gives us a version of this character that is a little different that the one we see in the original film. Emily has said that this version of Mary Poppins is “stuck up” but in such a wonderful way. We wanted to know how Emily felt about playing this more obscure version of Mary.
“Well, I think she’s much closer to how she is in the books. That’s how I played her. In the book she’s incredibly rude and vain and funny and enigmatic and weird. She’s sort of bizarre and layered, so for me, it was ‘how do I find those cracks of humanity in a superhuman?'”
Emily says it was fun to play a character with extreme duality.
“When she goes on these adventures, you’ve got to see her childlike wonder and her thrill and enjoyment of it. And then when it’s over, she pretends like none of it happened and she had nothing to do with it. It’s so cool playing someone with that duality to them.”
What an incredible exclusive interview with Emily Blunt! She was a delight, just like she is in Mary Poppins Returns. That delight completely transferred to the Mary Poppins Returns Funko POPs that are available now! We each received one after our interviews, and I cannot WAIT to purchase the rest! You can check them out here:
Mary Poppins Returns Mary with Kite
Mary Poppins Returns Mary with Skirt Bag
Mary Poppins Returns Mary Pink Dress
Mary Poppins Returns Jack the Lamplighter
I can’t wait to see her as Mary Poppins! I’ve always loved her!
She does such a wonderful job!