Toni Collette has described working on Mafia Mamma as “one of the best experiences of (her) life”.

During an interview with IndieWire, the 50-year-old actress discussed playing the lead in the new action comedy, which follows a regular suburban mum who unexpectedly inherits her late grandfather’s mafia empire in Italy.

“The experience of making it was the most joyous of my career,” Toni told the outlet. “It was one of the best experiences of my life.”

The Australian actress, who produced the film, revealed that she received the script during the Covid-19 lockdown and immediately knew that her Miss You Already director Catherine Hardwicke, best known for helming Twilight, should join the team.

Discussing the script, she revealed, “It just made me laugh so much. I just thought, ‘Man, if this can do this for me at this time, I want to bring this to life.’ I had such a special feeling about it from the beginning.”

She added, “I felt so flattered (original story writer and producer) Amanda Sthers sent it to me. I just knew that I had to do it, I really did. I knew it was going to be a good time. I didn’t realise it would be this great of a time, but I knew it was going to be special.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Toni discussed working with Italian film star Monica Bellucci and admitted the team “were so lucky” to get her onboard the project.

Mafia Mamma was released in U.S. cinemas last month.

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