Emily Blunt Says She Feels 'Lighter Than Air' as She Turns 41 After Her First Oscar Nomination (Exclusive)

Happy birthday, Emily Blunt!

The Oppenheimer actress, who turns 41 on Friday, recently opened up to PEOPLE about how she's feeling at this stage in her life, in the wake of her first-ever Academy Award nomination.

"I feel like I've been lighter than air the last couple of weeks. I feel so happy," Blunt says in an interview for PEOPLE's annual Oscar portfolio, when asked about the recognition.

"I don't know if I've had much time to let it sink in. I feel very happy, like peaceful, happy," she adds.

Says costar Robert Downey Jr., "Blunt is one of the most naturally disposed to being an optimist, while being real about things."

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"And also it's really weird, because you don't see a lot of Brit in her," he goes on to joke about Blunt. "I'm not saying because you're so cool, but you have an equanimity and a balance — you almost never talk smack about anyone."

"Never," agrees the film's star Cillian Murphy, who also worked alongside Blunt in the 2021 thriller A Quiet Place Part II.

" ... to our dismay," quips Downey, 58. "So if you could work on that, that'd be great."

"I will. I'm going to work on some smack-talking. I'll write that down," Blunt replies.

Blunt previously reflected on where she was when she found out she had been named as a nominee in the Oscars' Best Supporting Actress category.

"I did have a brief cry when I learned ... directly after picking up my dog’s poop," Blunt told MTV’s Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "I did pick up the poop, and then I heard that I got nominated."

She added that her husband and fellow actor John Krasinski "had a really good cry, as well" as they learned she'd nabbed a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role in Oppenheimer.

"After helping me with the poop — I think he went and put it in the trash, and then we both cried," Blunt joked.

The 96th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air live on Sunday, March 10, from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, beginning at 7 p.m. ET.