Anna Kendrick Loved Singing With Meryl Streep

Anna Kendrick's forthcoming role in Into The Woods marks her second on-screen singing performance, but her first time acting opposite Meryl Streep. Like any human being, Kendrick was slightly freaked out. "At a certain point I had to tone it down," she told V magazine. Kendrick's in general disbelief that Streep's singing talents haven't been truly unearthed until now, either. “I just couldn’t get my mind around how she could have been sitting on this level of talent for so long, and no one really knew about it,” she told V, confirming the Oscar-winning actress is the veritable force we always assumed her to be.

But, Kendrick's no ingénue — even in comparison to Streep. It's been five years since her breakout role in Up in the Air. In that time, she's emerged as one of Hollywood's cool girls, starring in a mix of indie and big-budget flicks and killing it on the Internet with her viral videos. “For a long time, I felt like I had to act the way an Oscar-nominee was supposed to act,” she told the magazine. “In my mind that was somebody who is reserved and diplomatic. It took me a while to realize that it’s okay to have opinions on things.” Coming out of your shell was the best thing you've ever done, girl.

Check out V's summer issue for the full interview.