Lily James cried while waiting to meet Meryl Streep

LOS ANGELES: Lily James said she was overwhelmed with emotion when she was waiting to meet Meryl Streep on the sets of the "Mamma Mia!" sequel.

The 29-year-old actor plays the younger self of Streep's character Donna in "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again".

"(Meryl) was singing this song in a chapel and it was so emotional. I was sat outside knowing I was about to meet her. And crying. And it was like: 'Hold it together, Lily!' It was too much!" James told PorterEdit.

The actor said, while prepping for the role, she tried to steer clear of Streep's aura and focused on the essence of her character.

"I tried not to focus on the Meryl Streep-ness of it all, but tried to focus on the Donna Sheridan-ness of it all.

"Having said that, I did go through all of Meryl's movies, especially stuff from when she was younger. I loved watching 'Postcards from the Edge' - there's a spunky kind of madness where she sings in that - and even 'Death Becomes Her'."

James added the multiple-time Oscar winner made her feel comfortable and allowed her have her "moment" in the film.

"She was just so cool. We had to do this dance together and she gave it all to me, she let me take my moment," she said.