Emily Blunt told host Andy Cohen that Meryl Streep remained in character as Miranda Priestly while filming The Devil Wears Prada in 2006, and that the experience left her intimidated. The exchange came during an exclusive SiriusXM Front Row conversation this week with Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci and Streep, where Cohen asked whether Streep had been tough to work with.
Blunt said she had been "quite scared" on the first film because Streep was firmly in a performance zone — a Miranda zone that kept distance between the actor and the rest of the cast. She added that Streep did not perform the familiar, infectious laugh Blunt had otherwise known, which increased the sense of separation on set.
Streep acknowledged the description and explained the method behind it. She said for the first three days she would hang around the camera with the director and maintain "a slight remove" to convey authority. That remove, Streep said, meant she sometimes heard her castmates laughing without her and felt isolated enough to go back to her trailer miserable while others celebrated in the makeup trailer.
The moment of mutual recognition landed with a line both Streep and Cohen repeated plainly: "It's lonely at the top." Cohen had asked Streep directly whether being method was difficult; Streep conceded that keeping a bit of distance felt necessary to make Miranda feel like a boss, even if it made the work personally uncomfortable.
The on-set dynamic takes on new resonance because the sequel opens in theaters May 1. The follow-up returns to Miranda Priestly as she navigates the decline of traditional magazine publishing and comes into conflict with Blunt's character, who has risen to become a high-powered executive at a luxury group controlling the advertising dollars Priestly needs. The cast reunion on SiriusXM highlighted how the original film's behind-the-scenes tensions helped forge the central authority that anchors both films.
There is a clear trade-off at the heart of what both actors described. Streep purposely insulated herself to give Priestly the implacable control the role demands, a choice that left younger cast members feeling shut out. Blunt recalled not hearing Streep's trademark laugh and being uneasy around an actress who stayed in a Miranda state; Streep admitted she sometimes watched the others enjoy themselves from afar and felt the loneliness that created the character's power.
The tension matters for viewers heading back to theaters: the sequel's conflict depends on that same hard-edged authority. Priestly's decline in influence and her scramble for advertising dollars now pits her against a former subordinate who wields corporate clout. The emotional truth the actors described — that Streep's performance came at the cost of closeness on set — helps explain why Priestly remains formidable on screen and why the sequel's confrontation with Blunt's character feels personally charged.
In short: yes, Streep was intimidating — by design. She chose a deliberate distance to make Miranda authoritative, a choice that unsettled colleagues but delivered the chilling leadership that defined the role. That creative decision, both admitted on SiriusXM Front Row, is part of what gives the sequel its central engine as Priestly and Blunt's character square off on May 1.
For more on the cast's return and how Stanley Tucci fits into the new film, see the item about Stanley Tucci joining The Devil Wears Prada 2 cast on as Emily Blunt swears live.
