Emily Blunt had to give Tom Cruise tips on being an action man

Emily Blunt excelled in music and drama at school but her specialist subject as an actress is chemistry.

From her royal courtship with Rupert Friend as Prince Albert in The Young Victoria to becoming the object of Matt Damon’s desire in the The Adjustment Bureau, the 30-year-old from Roehampton has an impressive history of building believable on-screen relationships with her co-stars.

She’s at it again in sci-fi thriller Edge of Tomorrow, in which she plays a special forces killing machine who attracts Tom Cruise’s attention while fighting off an alien invasion.

Not only was it Emily’s first action movie, she had the added challenge of telling a legend in the genre what to do.

“He’s useless at the beginning,” laughs Emily of Tom’s Major William Cage.

“He’s in way over his head whereas I’m a bad-ass, so lethal. It was exciting for me to play someone who might be the toughest person I’ve ever come across in my first action movie.”

Major Cage is a PR man for the US Army who has never seen a day’s combat in his life.

But a series of events lead to him having the power to reset the day every time he gets killed making him indestructible and a key weapon in the fight against “The Mimics”, aliens who have taken over Europe and are now threatening Britain.

The reluctant soldier seeks out Emily’s Sgt Vrataski for help but each occasion his mission ends in him being killed, he has to reset the day and return to her for more training.

This novel concept meant Emily had to take some unusual things into consideration when gauging her performance.

“It’s a weird position for her to be in, to know that he’s probably known her for thousands of days and she just met him that morning,” she relates.

“She also once had Tom’s character’s ability to reset the day. She no longer has this power, but in the process of having to relive each battle, she’s become hardened.

“She’s pretty much lost everyone she’s ever cared about, and has probably had to lose them over and over again.

“She’s pretty inaccessible when it comes to someone wanting to have a relationship with her or some kind of friendship.”

Every day is a new adventure for Emily at the moment having given birth to a daughter, Hazel, in February. It’s her first child with John Krasinski, who starred in the US version of The Office.

The pair started dating in 2008 just a few months after Emily split with long-term love Michael Buble and married two years later at the Lake Como home of their mutual friend, George Clooney.

The couple are reported to have bought a £1.6 million home in Hollywood Hills, where Londoner Emily first moved to a decade ago after making a name for herself in America with her scene-stealing role in The Devil Wears Prada.

“Meeting John changed my life. When I feel the support that I have from him, I feel invincible,” Emily says of their relationship.

“There’s someone behind you on your good days, and in front of you on your bad days.”

Emily’s next role will see her alongside another Hollywood A-lister, Johnny Depp, in Into The Woods, a modern twist on the Brothers Grimm fairy tales.

Emily was six months pregnant when she filmed the role, which is due out at Christmas. That wasn’t as hard on the back as the 85lb armoured suit she had to carry for Edge of Tomorrow.

“I did three months of gymnastics, weight training, running, all stamina stuff, and did a lot with a weight vest on, to feel what it would be like to run with extra weight.

“But I don’t think the vest did the suit any justice. So, when I showed up and actually put the Exosuit on, it almost made me cry.

“It was so alien to me to put on that kind of weight and try and move in it. Tom was great for me because he has this boundless enthusiasm.

“When you’re shooting outside in November in the pouring rain in 85lb suits…it was remarkable how upbeat he remained.”

Our Verdict 4/5

The film was the first to be shot at Warner Bros’ newly-renovated studio at Leavesden and it certainly made good use of the state-of-the-art facilities.

But the Exosuits, special effects and extraterrestrials would be nothing without a good old human relationship driving the narrative along, and in this Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt excel, even manage to inject a bit of humour into their grave mission to make a successful amphibious landing on the beaches of northern France.

The only misstep is the film’s release date which, given that mission, strikes me as a bit insensitive so close to the 70th anniversary of D-Day.