Emily Blunt is not quitting Hollywood, obviously

Emily Blunt never said she was going to leave Hollywood. The article could just end there, but unfortunately in the game of telephone that is celebrity reporting, “that story got so, sort of, overblown,” Blunt told Deadline. “I was just taking a little downtime, not quitting Hollywood. Just taking some months off to be with the kids.”

Why was there even a question of Blunt throwing in the towel? During an interview on the podcast Table For Two With Bruce Bozzi (via The Hollywood Reporter), Blunt shared, “This year, I’m not working. I worked quite a bit last year and my oldest baby is 9, so we’re in the last year of single digits. And I just feel [like] there are cornerstones to their day that are so important when they’re little. And it’s, ‘Will you wake me up? Will you take me to school? Will you pick me up? Will you put me to bed?’ And I just need to be there for all of them for a good stretch. And I just felt that in my bones.”

Blunt joins a long line of actors who have to clarify their remarks on quitting, retiring, or taking a break, including Michael Sheen, Bryan Cranston, Patti LuPone, and recently, Tom Holland. The fact is, few A-list actors ever seem to really quit acting—looking at you, Cameron Diaz. Daniel Day Lewis seems to be the only one to have accomplished it so far, and there’s still plenty of time for him to get back in the game.

Though she will remain in the acting profession in general, Blunt won’t be working for a while—and neither will the rest of SAG-AFTRA, which has authorized a strike to begin at midnight on July 14. In response to the strike call, Blunt and her Oppenheimer co-stars left the London premiere before the screening began. Hopefully, a fair deal will be struck so that Emily Blunt can get back to business, which she never had any intention of quitting, to be perfectly clear.