The Matrix Resurrections' Priyanka Chopra was 'terrified' on set at first

While stepping onto the set of one of Hollywood's biggest movie series would be intimidating to most of us, you'd think it would be a walk in the park for Priyanka Chopra, but it seems the megastar gets first-day jitters just like many of us.

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle about the fourth instalment of the Matrix series, The Matrix Resurrections, Priyanka admitted to being "terrified" when she stepped on set for the first day of shooting.

"I was terrified on the first day, I just wanted to make sure that I go in and I get the job done," she told us. "Because it is intimidating to be on an iconic set like that and to be able to be, you know, taking on a part which was so intentionally placed in the previous movie. But I'm just I was just really happy to be there and have the opportunity, honestly."

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The film is set 20 years after The Matrix Revolutions with Neo (Keanu Reeves) living a seemingly normal life as Thomas A. Anderson in San Francisco with a therapist (Neil Patrick Harris) who prescribes him with blue pills to counteract the strange 'hallucinations' he occasionally suffers from. In this version of reality, Thomas meets a woman who appears to be his one true love, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), but they do not recognise each other.

However, a new version of Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) offers him a red pill and reopens his mind to the Matrix, which is now even more dangerous and more secure. Neo and a group of rebels must now fight a new enemy and find a way for him and Trinity to reunite.

Without giving away too much, Priyanka's character Sati first appears as a young girl in Matrix Revolutions. It was believed the child would someday have a significant impact on the future of both the humans and the Machines – which is explored in Resurrections.

While she may have been nervous at first, Priyanka said she was lucky to have had Keanu Reeves on-set to make her feel welcome with the actress saying, "I think Keanu's the kind of person who kind of is a man of few words, and a man of big talks, not of small talk.

"So I think he's just very astute and encouraging and very kind and very considerate co-actor, and that's what you really, really want when you're going into something where, you know, he's done – he's been in the business for 40 years, almost, and... four of these movies versus coming in new. So, he was just really encouraging, and that was very inspiring to me."

Director Lana Wachowski is known for being a very inclusive director and making sure her cast is made up of a diverse group of actors, so when asked how important it was for her to appear in this film, Priyanka shared that finding work in bigger Hollywood films is something she fights for.

"I really fought for it," she said. "I think when I first started seeking work in Hollywood, there wasn't a lot of you know, there wasn't a lot of opportunity to be seen in roles like this, but I have to give credit to the Wachowskis [sisters Lana and Lilly].

"Even if you think about the first Matrix, it was always so global and so diverse. I think that's just who they are. And I think that was always very important to Lana, and if you see any of their work, it's always not one kind of person."

She continued, "So, I was very grateful to obviously have that opportunity. But I think there were, for me, at least personally, there was a lot of education and, you know, sort of demanding of parts and having to really pound the pavement, because there are so few South Asian actors that really get the opportunity. But I'm not afraid of the work, and I'm very persistent. And as long I have the opportunity to entertain, I'll continue to do it."

The Matrix Resurrections is out in cinemas on Boxing Day.

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