Marion Cotillard thought that all of her acting experience meant that she would never get the chance to work with directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.
The actress has returned to the big screen this week with new drama Two Days, One Night and she is one of the few non-Belgian actors to work with the Dardenne brothers.
And the Oscar winning actress says she was thrilled when she discovered that she would get the chance to work with them.
Speaking to Empire, the actress said: "For me, the Dardenne brothers were the ultimate unreachable, because they don’t work with foreign actors - almost all of the actors they’ve worked with are from Belgium - and they like to use unknowns.
"So with all of my experience, and all the roles imprinted on me, I thought I’d never work with them. But when they asked I was deeply , deeply surprised - and deeply , deeply happy."
Cotillard takes on the central role of Sandra in the film, and is joined on the cast list by Fabrizio Rongione and Pili Groyne.
We have already seen Cotillard star in Blood Ties this summer, and she has also completed work on Macbeth and lent her voice to The Little Prince.
Two Days, One Night is out now.
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