In a revealing interview with BBC Radio Four’s Woman’s Hour, acclaimed actress Emily Blunt shared her aspirations to make a movie about stuttering, a condition she struggled with during her childhood. Best known for her roles in ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Mary Poppins Returns, Blunt spoke candidly about her experiences and the need to destigmatize stuttering.
Blunt, reflecting on the emotional challenges she faced, said, “The emotional trauma of living with the inability to speak will limit you in ways that are, for someone who speaks fluently, pretty unimaginable. There’s so much shame about it.” Her struggle with stuttering was so profound that it once left her unable to speak.
However, the actress credits her participation in school plays, encouraged by a teacher, as a turning point. Acting became a gateway to gaining confidence and gradually overcoming her stutter. Blunt emphasized the neurological nature of stuttering, which is often mistakenly perceived as a psychological issue. This misconception, she noted, leads to social challenges and stigmatization.
“Neurological relates to conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, or nerves, while a psychological condition relates to an issue affecting someone’s mental state,” she explained. Blunt stressed the importance of destigmatizing stuttering to reduce the shame and bullying associated with it.
Blunt also shared insights into how stuttering affects her today, noting that she still navigates around certain words and finds some speaking situations challenging. “I’ll always be one, I’m probably unaware of how much I flip-flop words around to substitute ones that are easier to say,” she remarked.
Stuttering, which affects over 80 million people globally, is a common condition in childhood that can persist into adulthood. The causes of stuttering remain largely unknown, according to the National Health Service (NHS).
In her latest role, Blunt portrayed the wife of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist instrumental in developing the first nuclear weapons. Through her career and public speaking, Emily Blunt continues to be an influential voice in raising awareness and understanding of stuttering.