Emily Blunt has a strange relationship with the Oscars. They almost love her. But they never quite appreciate her wonderful performances enough to hand her an Oscar bid and, as a result, this brilliant actress — one of the finest of her generation — is still without her first Oscar nomination.
This could change, however, with her performance in Christopher Nolan‘s “Oppenheimer” in which she plays Kitty Oppenheimer, the wife of the titular scientist Robert J. Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy. Blunt’s role could have easily gone down as a forgettable “long-suffering wife” character but thanks to Nolan’s considered writing and Blunt’s fierce performance, Kitty is a standout, as many critics have noted.
Christian Holub (EW) explained: “Emily Blunt’s Kitty Oppenheimer is defiantly alive, in spite of the worldwide crises of the ’30s and ’40s. Far from the archetype of a ‘devoted wife,’ Kitty is not shy about expressing her frustrations with motherhood or her dissatisfaction with politics. Blunt is a great partner for Murphy in their scenes together: bringing him down to Earth when he’s off in the clouds, reminding him to fight when he seems content to let history wash over him.”
Tomris Laffly (The Wrap) observed: “The other is a subtly scene-stealing Emily Blunt in the role of Oppenheimer’s unconventional wife Kitty. Once a Bay Area socialite who later refuses to be bogged down by her new domestic role in Los Alamos, Blunt’s Kitty single-handedly runs away with perhaps the most memorable security clearance hearing scene in the movie.”
And Peter Travers (ABC News) wrote: “Kudos to Blunt for building the role with a fierce independence as Kitty defended Oppy from the political gamesmanship that plagued him.”
As a result of this positive reception, Blunt has snuck her way into our top five predicted nominees for Best Supporting Actress and leapfrogged Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”). We think Blunt will be nominated alongside Julianne Moore (“May December”), Danielle Brooks and Taraji P. Henson (“The Color Purple”), and Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”). If she does land a bid, she will earn her first-ever Oscar nomination. Here are the top five reasons we think she will do just that.
1. Blunt is overdue a nomination
Blunt has come so close to a nomination so many times. Firstly, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at both the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes in 2007 for her comedic role opposite Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada.” No dice. Then, she was nominated for Best Actress at BAFTA and SAG in 2017 for the dramatic thriller “The Girl on the Train.” No dice. She then looked like she would deliver a case of London buses (waiting so long for one that two come along at once — as someone who lives in London, I can confirm that this is not true. Instead, you wait so long for one bus and just keep waiting. None turn up.) with her supporting role in “A Quiet Place” and her leading role in “Mary Poppins Returns.” She won the SAG for the former in 2019 and also earned a Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and SAG for the latter. Still, no dice. This time, however, would be the perfect chance to make it up to her.
2. Blunt’s role fills a classic Best Supporting Actress role — the long-suffering wife
“Long-suffering wife” may sound crude or harsh, but it is true. Oscar voters have a history of nominating supporting actresses for playing the wife in a biopic with a leading man. Aunjanue Ellis was nominated for “King Richard” in 2022, Amy Adams was nominated for “Vice” in 2019, Alicia Vikander won in 2016 for “The Danish Girl,” Sally Field was nominated in 2013 for “Lincoln,” and Helena Bonham-Carter was nominated in 2011 for “The King’s Speech.” As Kitty, Blunt fits that role. However, it should be pointed out that she does the absolute most with this role and her performance, combined with Nolan’s smart writing, prevents the role from just being a shoved-to-the-side wife.
3. Blunt has an “Oscar moment”
We Oscarologists always talk about a performance needing an “Oscar moment” to stand out to potential viewers. Think about Laura Dern‘s victory for Best Supporting Actress in 2020 for “Marriage Story.” She won just as much for that one speech about motherhood as she did for the entire movie. Also, Michael Keaton missed out on a Best Supporting Actor bid for “Spotlight” in 2016 because he didn’t have an Oscar moment — but his co-star, Mark Ruffalo, did and it was Ruffalo who went away with the Oscar nomination.
Blunt has that moment herself in Kitty’s security clearance hearing scene when she is interrogated by Jason Clarke‘s Roger Robb. Every other character in that scene thought Kitty would flop under pressure but Kitty came through and delivered a charismatic, witty, fierce defense of her husband and Blunt stole the show with that one scene, which also demonstrated her pitch-perfect American accent. That scene will be the clip shown at awards shows if Blunt is nominated.
4. Blunt stands out as one of the few women in a film dominated by men
There is nothing wrong with this movie being male-dominated — that’s just the story it tells. But it does actually help Blunt out. Yes, Florence Pugh also features in the film but Blunt has a much bigger role and has more stand-out moments. As such, Blunt sticks in your mind more for being one of the very few women in a movie packed full of male actors. Jennifer Jason Leigh was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 2016 for “The Hateful Eight” — she was the lone woman in a cast full of men in that Quentin Tarantino film. Blunt could go the same way here.
5. “Oppenheimer” is a biopic, one of the Oscars’ favorite genres
Ellis was nominated for “King Richard” in 2022, Amanda Seyfried was nominated for “Mank” in 2021, Margot Robbie was nominated for “Bombshell” in 2020 (although her role was a fictional amalgamation of several women), Kathy Bates was nominated for “Richard Jewell” in the same year, and Amy Adams (“Vice”), Rachel Weisz, and Emma Stone (both “The Favourite”) were all nominated in 2019. Best Supporting Actress nominations often go to biopics and Blunt and “Oppenheimer” could be another example of that happy marriage. Let’s see.
Make your predictionsat Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app forApple/iPhone devicesorAndroid (Google Play)to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See ourlatest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in ourfamous forumswhere 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
SIGN UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
