Naomi Watts jokes she wasn't cast in 'The Friend' for her talent

Naomi Watts and Bill Murray had to be cast together in their upcoming film The Friend.

Watts and Murray play friends in the movie, but their real life friendship is what got them cast as pals on screen.

The Goodnight Mommy star even joked that she was only cast in the movie because the producers wanted Murray, who starred with her in the 2014 movie St. Vincent, to say yes.

"They mentioned his name, and at first I was like, 'Oh, god, that's why they called me. Because they want to get to Bill.’ Because people know that I know him, and we've worked together," she told People.

"But when they said that, it just was an aha moment and I couldn't see it any other way. I was determined, so I made the call. Well, I texted him first, and I wasn't even sure if he'd reply. Sometimes people like that change their phone numbers frequently," she added.

The actress went on to express her gratitude over Murray agreeing to star in the movie: "It means the world. It's very lovely, and we do have a very special friendship.”

"And I love that this story centers around friendships, because not many stories do. If it's a relationship movie, it's often romance or family dynamics," Watts shared.

"And friendship is something that's a very powerful thing. As you get older, it becomes more and more meaningful. So yeah, it makes sense. I have that kind of friendship with Bill, too," she added.

Along with Naomi Watts and Bill Murray, The Friend also stars Sarah Pidgeon, Carla Gugino, Constance Wu, Nova Dumezweni, Ann Dowd, Felix Solis, Owen Teague and Bing the Great Dane.