Hacked emails: Concerns raised over 'anorexic' Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt in a scene from The Devil Wears Prada.

Emily Blunt is best known for playing an under-nourished fashion magazine assistant in Vogue satire The Devil Wears Prada, chastising Anne Hathaway's character in one scene: "You eat carbs, for heaven's sake."

But it appears Hollywood executives are worried life is imitating art for the 32-year-old Roehampton-born actress.

In an email discussing her possible role as super-villain Scorpion in a Spider-Man spin-off, Sony Pictures chairwoman Amy Pascal wrote she was "worried" about Blunt.

"I think I saw a picture of her and she looked anorexic," Pascal told director Drew Goddard and fellow Sony executives in the missive, one in a series of emails that have just been published by WikiLeaks. Pascal resigned two months ago over the scandal.

Goddard was keen for Blunt to star in his film Sinister Six, however, earlier enthusing to Pascal: "F***. Even as I type this... Picture Emily Blunt with a Scorpion tail on... Oh goddamn it, now I might need her for Sinister Six. Or, at least, Sinister Six Two."

The Pascal email was sent in May last year, just months after Blunt gave birth to her first child, daughter Hazel, with her actor husband John Krasinski. No casting has yet been announced, so it remains to be seen whether Pascal won the day.

Blunt, daughter of Oliver Blunt QC and niece of former prisons minister Crispin Blunt, has previously spoken out about the physical toll of her work.

She was reportedly encouraged to lose weight for The Devil Wears Prada because her character was "on the edge of anorexia" and "literally did not eat", according to Blunt.

Last year, she appeared opposite Tom Cruise in sci-fi blockbuster The Edge Of Tomorrow, which the actress described as "the most gruelling thing I've ever done" and involved wearing armour that weighed over 32kg.

Emails also reveal that Blunt was considered for two other Sony Pictures films, both about alien invasions, which ultimately ended up going to lesser known actresses.

Pascal claimed she "loved" the idea of Blunt for Adam Sandler film Pixels, due out later this year, but the role went to True Detective actress Michelle Monaghan.

Blunt was also considered for The 5th Wave, out next year, but was pipped to the part by Maria Bello.

A spokesman for Blunt declined to comment.

- Daily Mail