Blunt's year has featured two acclaimed roles in 'Disclosure Day' and 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'

The awards season is heating up with the fall festivals underway, and Emily Blunt is in line for one of its marquee tributes. The Academy Award nominee will receive the 19th annual Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Blunt, who won the Actor Award (formerly known as SAG Award) for her supporting turn in John Krasinski’s horror hit “A Quiet Place” and the Golden Globe for the British TV drama “Gideon’s Daughter,” will be feted with the prize named for the legendary screen actor. The honor, which benefits the festival’s year-round educational programs, will be presented Thursday, Dec. 10, 2026, at a black-tie dinner in Santa Barbara.

“Emily Blunt takes risks most actors wouldn’t dare, moving between drama, comedy and blockbuster spectacle with the same precision and commitment,” says Michael Douglas. “That range and authenticity are exactly what the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film was created to celebrate. We’re proud to honor her.”

This summer, Blunt drew some of the strongest reviews of her career for Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi epic “Disclosure Day,” in which she stars opposite Josh O’Connor as Margaret Fairchild, a Kansas City TV meteorologist whose increasingly inexplicable experiences pull her into a sweeping effort to reveal the existence of extraterrestrial life. The role lets Blunt play the full width of her range, shifting between humor, fear, confusion, vulnerability and wonder.

The performance marks another peak in Blunt’s career. She earned her first Academy Award nomination as Kitty Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s best picture winner “Oppenheimer,” and landed a Golden Globe nom earlier this year for her work opposite Dwayne Johnson in Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine.” She has moved fluidly across drama, comedy, action, musicals and thrillers in “A Quiet Place” and “A Quiet Place Part II,” “Sicario,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Into the Woods,” “Mary Poppins Returns,” “Looper” and “The Devil Wears Prada.” Earlier this year, she reprised her breakout role as Emily Charlton in “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” reuniting with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Stanley Tucci two decades after the original became a cultural phenomenon.

Since 2006, the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film has gone to a lifelong contributor to cinema in front of the camera, behind it or both. Past honorees include Cynthia Erivo, Will Ferrell, Ryan Gosling, Michelle Yeoh, Martin Scorsese, Hugh Jackman, Judi Dench, Warren Beatty, Jane Fonda, Jessica Lange, Forest Whitaker, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Quentin Tarantino, Ed Harris and John Travolta.

Last year’s program featured more than 200 films, including 46 world premieres and 80 U.S. premieres from 50 countries. More than 60 Academy Award winners and nominees were celebrated, including Michael B. Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Kate Hudson, Stellan SkarsgĂ„rd, Ethan Hawke, Jacob Elordi, Chase Infiniti, Amy Madigan, Wagner Moura, Renate Reinsve, Teyana Taylor, Wunmi Mosaku, ChloĂ© Zhao, Joachim Trier, Josh Safdie, Ryan Coogler and Jafar Panahi.

The 42nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival runs Feb. 3-13, 2027. Official events, including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels and celebrity tributes, will unfold across the city, among them the historic Arlington Theatre, the Riviera Theatre and the new McHurley Film Center.