Emily Blunt Says She Gets 'Very Nervous' About Being Tough

— -- Emily Blunt says portraying the "tough" role does not come naturally to her. But that certainly isn’t stopping the actress from taking on some very convincing hardcore characters.

Who could forget her snobbish, no-nonsense attitude as Meryl Streep’s assistant in “The Devil Wears Prada?” Now, Blunt is showcasing another tough side, this time by playing FBI agent Kate Macer in the new big screen drama “Sicario.” In the movie, she’s jumping off of buildings and battling a drug cartel. Blunt told ABC News her hardened stance is all in the acting.

“I’m not very tough. I get very nervous,” Blunt said. “I would never, ever take a bike ride without a helmet. I do think innately I have a bit of a showoff mentality when it comes to doing physical things. Maybe it brings me back to being a child on sports day and trying to win the race.”

Blunt, 32, told ABC News' Peter Travers she’s careful about choosing her film roles because it’s easy to become typecast. It almost happened after “The Devil Wears Prada” was such a huge hit.

“With 'Devil Wears Prada,' I think I got offered every acerbic bitchy British character on the market for the next two years. And I just made a point of just not doing that ever. And then after 'Edge of Tomorrow,' I got offered every action film. So you’ve got to be careful so as not to get categorized.”

Blunt is a British native. But she recently became a U.S. citizen. She joked about her "relationship" with the royal family.

“We’re best friends. We’re really close,” Blunt said. “My grandfather was quite high up in the army so he had some ties with the royal family. So, when my oldest sister presented a bouquet to the Queen Mother, I was there too. And I had this horrible, disgusting stinking toy that every child is in love with, you know and I thrust it into her face apparently to give her a sniff. And apparently she went, ‘Oh yes, I can see he’s well loved.' It’s my claim to royal fame.”

“Sicario” is in theaters now.