Emily Blunt can't help but cringe whenever she recalls her recent meeting with President Barack Obama - because she lost control of her nerves and began laughing "hysterically" in his face.

Blunt was attending the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. in December (11) to help pay tribute to her The Devil Wears Prada co-star Meryl Streep when she was offered the opportunity to greet the President.

But the meeting didn't quite go as smoothly as she'd planned when Obama lavished praise on Blunt for her screen work - and it all proved a little too much for her to handle.

She recalls, "I'm from England so I didn't think I would be as excited as I apparently was (to meet Obama), so I was like, he won't know who I am, he'll shake my hand and say, 'Hi, nice to meet you', move on.

"I went to shake his hand and he turned to me, and he put his hand on top of mine and he went, 'I love you. I love what you do, I've seen all of your work.' And I started to laugh hysterically in his face and I didn't say anything except I think I said, 'I appreciate that' or 'I appreciate you' or just something really awful and I couldn't stop laughing!"

Her bizarre reaction prompted event officials to cut short the meeting and guide her away - and Blunt admits it was a complete disaster.

She says, "I don't know what happened, I've never fallen to pieces like that in front of anyone... So I got gently removed. I remember feeling a kinda firm grip on my arm as I was ushered away. And Michelle (Obama) gave my a hug, I think out of pity, because I was such a mess!"