EXCLUSIVE: Rose Byrne talks returning to work after giving birth, telling Oprah Winfrey to 'shut the **** up!'
It's no secret that Oprah Winfrey is a legend, but it turns out that even legends can get intimidated! The media mogul and former talk show host admitted that she was nervous to be acting alongside top tier actors in HBO's upcoming film, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
WATCH: Reese Witherspoon Dishes on What It's Like to Make a Movie With Oprah Winfrey: 'She'd Do the Voice!'
Co-star Rose Byrne called this revelation "very strange," when speaking with ET's Jennifer Peros at the premiere of the film.
"Yeah, very strange. She's incredibly humble for someone of her, being a living legend really," Byrne said. "She had a huge undertaking and she was nervous admittedly, as was I. It's a very important story and a big story we tried to tell in a short amount of time too so it was ambitious."
Byrne was admittedly intimidated by her A-list co-star as well, saying, "Of course, someone of that profile, and [me] playing very intense roles, a journalist trying to really get in her space, you know so, and with somebody whose profile everybody wants a piece of you but we leaned heavily on George Wolf our director, he really navigated us through everything."
But once the cameras were rolling, Byrne didn't hold back. In one scene she had to yell at Winfrey's character to "shut the **** up."
"It was intense! It was a long day, but we wanted to do a good job and we were g-ed up to do it," she recalled. "It was one of those strange surreal moments in your life but that's acting you know? I think I said that to Glenn Close a few times as well so I'm clearly cornering a market, telling legendary woman to eff off."
Even with the allure of her legendary co-star, Byrne had a hard time returning to work so soon after the birth of her son, Rocco.
"It was my first job since having my son. I didn't really particularly want to go back to work but I couldn't say no, I was like, 'I can't say no to this project,'" she said of the inspirational story. "It's exceptional and to be in service of this story is my honor."
Byrne also revealed that becoming a mom has changed her mindset when it comes to taking on new roles.
"Because you want to spend time with them, but I love to work and I want to work as well, so like any working parent, man or woman, you figure it out," she said. "I don't know, I'm figuring it out every day. I'm just as naive about that as the next. I'm still trying to figure it all out."
The Immortal Life of Hernrietta Lacks premieres on April 22 at 8 p.m. ET on HBO.
