Maggie Gyllenhaal "hung out" with Emma Thompson on the set of 'Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang'.

The 32-year-old actress admits she didn't get to do much work with the star, but they still found the time to enjoy one another's company.

She said: "We did work together on 'Stranger Than Fiction' but we never acted together, not even for a second. And even in this movie it's not much, we don't do much together.

"We mostly just hung out together. And she was of course on set all the time as producer and writer. But as actresses we didn't do much work together."

The star also admits she enjoyed learning the English accent and believes all Americans have a desire to learn how to speak like a Brit.

She said: "I think most Americans when we come to England we just wish we could talk like you guys for a while and I got to do it in this movie! In fact the dialect coach who I worked with worked with my husband Peter Sarsgaard on 'An Education' and he was great. I really liked talking in an English accent."