“It was surreal. It was such a joy,” she says of her role in ‘My Spy The Eternal City’

Anna Faris took delight in playing a villain in My Spy The Eternal City.

A sequel to 2020’s My Spy, the actress stars in the action-comedy movie alongside Dave Bautista, Chloe Coleman, Ken Jeong and Kristen Schaal. And surprise — her character is actually the bad guy out for revenge, not the stickler vice principal she’s in disguise as for much of the film.

“I was attempting to embody this idea that this woman simply cares about the children and doesn’t have any other agenda and doesn’t show any attraction or any other side of herself besides principal, person in power,” Faris, 47, explains to PEOPLE. “In my head she’s totally heartbroken. She is seeking vengeance for the assassination of her husband.”

The actress, known for comedic roles in Scary Movie, The House Bunny and the sitcom Mom, says it was tricky keeping her My Spy twist top secret. “I’ve been training myself to not reveal anything. My original line was going to be like, ‘Well, she has a sense of her own justice,’ ” she says, adding that the role was “awesome” for her.

“It felt incredibly exciting to be able to have that twist,” says Faris. “I mean, to me, I think we all have a little villain in us, right? I love that I got hired for this awesome job and I got to have fire under my eyes and feel angry and vengeful. It was fantastic.”

Anna Faris filming “My Spy: The Eternal City” in Rome in April 2023.MEGA AGENCY

One scene near the end of the movie, in which her character gets punched by a civilian on the sidewalk, was a particular highlight for Faris, who filmed the scene in Rome in April 2023.

“We did this scene in front of the Vatican on a weekday. I mean, the whole thing is packed. I’m in this crazy leather outfit and my character gets punched really hard by an older Italian woman and everyone is watching,” she recalls, adding: “I felt like if this isn’t one of the coolest moments of my life, I don’t know what is! It was surreal. It was such a joy.”

Faris also says working with costar Bautista, 55, was a fun time. “He’s like this gentle giant with quiet charisma,” she says of the Guardians of the Galaxy alum. “I hope he knows how much I love and adore him in talking about him. He’s a very special human.”

My Spy The Eternal City is now on Prime Video.