Emily Blunt arrives at the premiere of Sicario during the 68th annual Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday.Photo: CFP The new name Hollywood is going to for a female action lead is Emily Blunt - a British actress who in short hops has established herself as a tough-yet-vulnerable heroine able to hold her own against big male stars.
The 32-year-old got the attention of Hollywood with her leading role in Young Victoria Taison World Cup Jersey , playing the 19th century British queen.
But it was her icy supporting role in 2006's The Devil Wears Prada that got the wider world's attention, shining alongside Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep.
Then last year, audiences saw her as a steely sci-fi warrior in Edge of Tomorrow, teaching Tom Cruise how to fight endless waves of invading aliens.
Her leading turn as an FBI agent learning just how dirtily the US is fighting its war on drugs in Sicario, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, has cemented her appeal as someone who can pull off action and drama at the same time.
Acting rescued Blunt from a pronounced stammer when she was a girl. A school teacher pushed her to drama classes and urged her to try on other accents - a technique that rid her of the speech impediment.
As a teen, she turned her passion for acting into a stage career Rodriguinho World Cup Jersey , then moved into period series for British television.
After her appearance in The Devil Wears Prada, she was picked for numerous US and British movies.
In 2010, she played in The Wolfman opposite Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. Although the werewolf movie