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Emily Blunt The Wolfman LA Press Conference

How much do you think Gwen is attracted to Lawrence as a man, and how much of it is that primal beast that’s inside of him?
Emily Blunt: "I don’t think she recognizes the primal beast. I think that she’s quite a scientific girl. So, when village gossip ruled the world as it did in Victorian times, she was probably the one studying Darwin. That’s when all of Darwin’s theories were coming out.

She always saw the man. You can’t help who you’re attracted to. I don’t know if chemistry or attraction is something you can ever crunch numbers on. It’s a rather ethereal thing. You’re either attracted to someone or you’re not. And because she was so helpless in being able to save her fiancé, and she could do nothing, it became her mission to do something for this man who was in hell. She could see that he was in hell. He was tormented. He was actually quite a soft man and a quiet man, and I think she was more attracted to how enigmatic he was rather than this darkness dwelling within him. I don’t think she really chose to recognize that side of him while everyone else was raving about it."

What was the most difficult aspect of making The Wolfman?

Emily Blunt: "I really found the action scenes in those clothes really tricky. In the scene where the Wolfman jumps on me and Hugo [Weaving] and I have to get up, he actually yanked my skirts down, as I was trying to get up. That was probably the hardest stuff we had to do.

It’s a combination of all the physical parts of the costumes and how restrictive they are, and trying to get that relationship and love story right without it appearing like she’s callous. And, how do you really react to a werewolf? What would you really do, if you came across a werewolf and were confronted by one? That was also something where you have to really use your imagination. I don’t have anything to draw from. I’ve never seen one and I don’t know anyone who’s ever seen one. I would ask people that I knew had been in life-threatening situation, 'What happened? What did you do?,' and they all said the same thing. They either fainted or they said nothing - their vocal chords literally locked out because they were so frightened. A few people I’ve known have literally been so frightened that they don’t utter a word. Their brain melts and they hit the deck. I think that’s funny."

  This film is full of metaphors for man’s relationship with nature, and the film unfolds in the Victorian era of Darwin, when science gave us a new understanding of human behavior. Did you talk about the philosophy of it at all, or is it just a scary movie?

Emily Blunt: "It’s a combination of both. Actors love to talk, so we did sit around and talk about certain things, like our feelings on the metaphorical sense of this film and the darkness in everyone, how much you allow that to thrive, how you control it and whether we all feel we’ve got a little beast inside of us. We did talk about that. And all of us read up about the period and everything that was going on. There was also an element we discussed, which was that this was the Victorian era where sexual repression was very prominent. These ghost stories about werewolves and vampires were incredibly relevant to that time, when everyone was feeling that they had to repress the beast and repress the instincts. It was an interesting setting for the film to place it in Victorian times. I think it worked really well. But then, we knew we were in a monster movie and we had to create candy at the same time. It’s a combination."

  Do you have a preference when it comes to working on sets and being immersed in the world, or working on location?

Emily Blunt: "I love being on location. I think you form a really close bond with people on location. When I was doing Sunshine Cleaning, Amy [Adams] and I lived next door to each other and we had an amazing time. We cooked for each other every night. It is a very bonding experience to be somewhere, like Albuquerque, where I’d never been before. I like both. I like to change it up. If did the same thing all the time, I’d probably get bored. They both have different highs and lows."

Were there any scenes of yours that were cut out of the film that could end up on the DVD?

Emily Blunt: "There was, yeah. There’s only one scene that I miss, but that’s because I’m a real fuddy-duddy about seeing the characters and human behavioral stuff. I’m sure most people are like, 'Let’s get to the bite,' but I love all the setting up of the relationships. So, I think there was one scene with the three of us [Emily, Benicio and Anthony] that was cool, but I don’t really think much was cut out of it."

  Do you have an inner beast yourself?

?Emily Blunt: "I don’t know. I feel like it’s dwelling. It hasn’t come out yet. It’s lying dormant. I think someone’s got to really piss me off. It’s weird because I see people where I think they wolf out a bit. When you see people fighting in the street, their faces look weird. When you see guys fighting, their faces contort. That’s the beast coming out, when people’s faces look weird, and they’re so angry and raging, and all of those instincts are just flying out of you. But, I’ve never been in that state yet. I’ve never been in a fight."