Merritt Wever and Toni Collette are starring in the new Netflix true crime drama Unbelievable, but Wever admitted to being rather starstruck by her Oscar-nominated costar behind the scenes.
“Working with her was a very big draw for me,” Wever said of Collette. “It was a very huge honor. Did not disappoint.”
Collette said she’s been blessed in her career, but feels humbled that many fans still approach her and tell her how they relate so closely to her characters.
“I get a lot of, ‘You’re terrible, Muriel’ and ‘I see dead people,’” Collette said, referencing iconic lines from Muriel’s Wedding (1994) and The Sixth Sense (1999).
Wever then admitted she, too, couldn’t resist quoting the Muriel’s Wedding line to Collette when they met on set.
“I did that to your face. It was terrible,” said Wever.
“No, it wasn’t,” Collette said. “She was immediately mortified!”
Wever recounted how she could barely get her words out as she spoke to Collette, to the point that her costar was concerned she was having a brain aneurism.
“I was like, ‘You’re terrible, Muriel,’” she said.
The line in the Australian film, which was directed by P.J. Hogan prior to My Best Friend’s Wedding, was originally uttered by Gabby Millgate, who played the sister of Muriel (Collette).
Her thick accent and deadpan delivery helped it become one of the most quoted lines in Australian cinema.
Wever said she couldn’t resist the opportunity to say the line to Collette in person.
“To not a small group of people that’s a big deal — to get to Muriel the actual Muriel, and I got to Muriel Muriel,” she said, “and I hold it in my heart.”
“I had to text someone right afterwards,” Wever added. “I was so nervous that she was going to think I was a freak.”
Unbelievable premieres Friday on Netflix.
Watch the full interview with Toni Collette and Merritt Wever here:
Full interview: Toni Collette and Merritt Wever talk about their new Netflix series "Unbelievable," the #MeToo movement, iconic Emmy speeches, "Muriel's Wedding" impressions, and more