Emily Blunt’s daughters believed she could fly after seeing her portray Mary Poppins.
The 35-year-old actress – who has daughters Hazel, four, and Violet, two, with her husband John Krasinski – has admitted she disappointed her eldest by revealing she cannot actually fly using an umbrella like the iconic nanny.
Speaking at the European premiere of ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ on Wednesday (12.12.18) at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Emily told talkRADIO: "My oldest one said to me recently, ‘Can you actually fly?’ and I had to say I can’t actually, so I worry I might just continue to be disappointing in real life to them."
The ‘Devil Wears Prada’ actress was initially "intimidated" by the prospect of portraying such a legendary character – but she ultimately adored playing the nanny.
She gushed: "I was initially a bit intimidated because it’s such iconic territory to walk through, more than anything I just adored playing her so much. I think she’s such an extraordinary character, so I just tried to approach her as I would any other role, really."
Emily was pleased to learn that Julie Andrews – who portrayed Mary Poppins in the classic 1964 film – had "nothing but praise" for her, replying that it was "very cool of her" and "very gracious".
Emily also admitted she hasn’t actually spoken to the 83-year-old film veteran yet, but she was happy when Julie told director Rob Marshall that she was pleased with his creation.
The ‘Girl on the Train’ actress said: "I haven’t spoken to Julie yet but I hope to speak to her because I know she’s just seen it and wrote Rob Marshall the most beautiful email about it, and loved it – so that meant a lot to all of us."
Emily was joined at the premiere by some of her ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ co-stars, including Emily Mortimer, Colin Firth and Ben Whishaw.