Having brilliantly played Katherine Oppenheimer in the Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer, in 2023, Emily Blunt can consider herself a biopic veteran. While the research into playing the wife of the American Prometheus undoubtedly involved some intriguing conversations, it turns out her research to play Mark Kerr’s ex-wife Dawn Staples led to stranger ones still.
Former UFC star Bas Rutten, who plays himself in the upcoming A24 production ‘The Smashing Machine’, has revealed one such conversation he had with the actress that left her laughing in disbelief.
Speaking to Matt Serra about the contentious relationship between Kerr and his then-wife, Staples, Rutten claimed that while the two were inseparable during those days, it wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Blunt, at the time, didn’t believe it. “I need to get in character for Dawn“, the British actor told Rutten, asking him to enlighten her about some conversations Bas had with her.
“I said one thing to her (Dawn) one time. She (Blunt) goes, what? I said, ‘Get the hell out of this place, right?’ It’s the only thing I said. She asked, ‘Why would you do that?‘” Rutten recalled.
Apparently, Dawn’s behavior after Kerr’s losses was toxic, to say the least. “Mark just lost and he’s completely down and she walks in and she’s like, ‘You look like a beginner, you look like a freaking loser. What were you doing out there?'” the former UFC fighter told Serra.
Explaining his contribution to the situation, Rutten then claimed that he asked her to “get the f*** out of here”, wondering how anyone could say that to someone they loved.
Allegedly unaware of their dynamic at this point, Blunt could not believe Rutten and just laughed at the story. However, she would soon discover the reality, according to the Dutch striking innovator.
Blunt learns more about Dawn-Kerr relationship
Of course, Blunt, being the thespian she is, wasn’t going to base her depiction of the character on the accounts of one person who claims not to have had more than a few interactions with Dawn.
So the British actress went to hear the truth from the mouth of the horse. And truth, she heard! Blunt would later find Rutten and give him some new information.
“She (Blunt) talked to Dawn, came back, and she said, ‘Hey Bas. I got some information for you. She (Dawn) told me, ‘I was very jealous of Bas. Because once Mark went to Bas, he got all the attention. And I was young, I was stupid. And looking back on it, it was just childish…” Rutten told Serra.
The former UFC star would then go on to recall another moment when he found himself being annoyed by the relationship Kerr had with Dawn.
“We would drive in the car, and he was constantly talking to her on the phone. For hours. And I would go, ‘hang up the freaking phone, man. Start focusing on the fighting,” he added, further claiming that Dawn used to be really needy at the time.
