Emma Stone "really wanted to work" with Eddington director Ari Aster.

The 36-year-old actress stars alongside the likes of Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Luke Grimes, and Austin Butler in the new comedy-drama film - but Emma admits that Ari really attracted her to the project.

Asked what drew her to the movie, Emma told Extra: "Honestly, I loved the script, but the biggest draw for me was Ari."

Emma is a long-time fan of the filmmaker, who previously helmed movies such as Hereditary and Midsommar. And the award-winning actress jumped at the opportunity to work with Ari.

She shared: "I love Ari's other films.

"I like him so much as a person and had gotten to know him for years before this, and so when he asked me if I wanted to be a part of it, I just said yes because I really, really wanted to work with Ari."

Emma would actually love to work with Ari, 38, on another movie.

Asked about the prospect of reuniting with him for another film, the actress replied: "I would love to, if he'll have me."

Emma also relished the experience of working with the film's star-studded cast. However, she never actually got to shoot any scenes with Pedro Pascal.

She explained: "I didn't get to work with him. You'll see in the movie, we don't get to intersect, but I've gotten to hang out with him outside of it, so it feels like it all evened out."

Despite this, Emma can't wait to see her co-star in the new Fantastic Four movie.

She said: "Of course I'm gonna see Fantastic Four. That trailer? With the song Fantastic Four where they're singing it? I mean, Pedro's enough for me, but then we got that great song? I'm in."

Emma is one of the best-known actresses in Hollywood, but she previously confessed to suffering from crippling anxiety during her younger years.

She told Rolling Stone magazine: "My brain [was] naturally zooming 30 steps ahead to the worst-case scenario.

"My anxiety was constant. I would ask my mom a hundred times how the day would lay out. What time she was going to drop me off? Where was she going to be? What would happen at lunch? Feeling nauseous. At a certain point, I couldn't go to friends' houses anymore - I could barely get out the door to school."

Emma's parents eventually encouraged her to see a therapist, and that proved to be a turning point for the movie star.

She said: "I drew a little green monster on my shoulder that speaks to me in my ear and tells me all these things that aren't true. And every time I listen to it, it grows bigger. If I listen to it enough, it crushes me. But if I turn my head and keep doing what I'm doing it shrinks and fades away."