Toni Collette Had 'Surreal' Reunion with Nicholas Hoult 22 Years After About a Boy: 'He's a Grown Man Now'

Toni Collette is reflecting on the "certain maternal feeling" that comes with playing an on-screen mother — and what it's like to see one of her former movie kids, Nicholas Hoult, all grown up!

Now, 22 years since they last shared the screen together in 2002's About a Boy, the two actors are opening up about doing it all over again in their latest project, Clint Eastwood's Juror #2.

In the film, Hoult, 34, stars as "family man" Justin Kemp, who serves as a a juror in a "high-profile murder trial" before he "finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma," according to Warner Bros. Pictures. Collette, 52, plays prosecutor Faith Killebrew.

But nearly a quarter of a decade before, the pair starred as the mother-son duo, Fiona and Marcus Brewer, in About a Boy, which was led by Hugh Grant. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly about their connection on Thursday, Oct. 31, Collette called it "amazing to have worked with someone as a kid, and then, suddenly, there they are as a man."

"It's surreal because I feel like I've played a lot of mothers, and there is a certain maternal feeling that goes with it," Collette said, before telling her two-time costar that she was "so fond" of him back in the day.

"And then to see you as this evolved human and being able to watch him going through [these scenes]. I could see everything in his mind. I could feel the energy of what his emotions were. I felt so proud of him," Collette told the outlet. "I was like, 'My God, look how talented he is.' It really blew me away. And then we got to hang out. We got to become friends properly, and it's been a total gift. It's a treat to come back together again."

Hoult explained to EW that since filming About a Boy in the early aughts, the pair has only reconnected once before their latest project, when they ran into each other "on a dance floor at a party." The experience of working together again, he said, was "magical."

"I have such fond memories of About a Boy and how kind and caring Toni was for me then," Hoult said. "In the time in between, I've watched her in so many wonderful things, and she's one of the most incredible actresses around. She brings joy, light, laughter, and happiness wherever she goes. So, there's this wonderful feeling of getting to be back in scenes with her and spend time with her."

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The pair also opened up about their on-set reunion to Extra TV, when Collette revealed that working together again was "very special to me" and said she was "blown away" by Hoult's evolution as an actor.

"I felt so proud, and I felt like, ‘What an opportunity.’ It’s kind of rare that you get to work with someone again," she said, while Hoult explained that the actress set "such a wonderful example" for him as a young actor. Hoult was 12 at the time of the film's release in May 2002.

“I feel like we got a deep connection and bond from all those years ago but then also, like, you know, now as adults getting to work together, and just appreciate the light and joy she brings into the world as well because she’s such a wonderful person to be around," he said.

Rounding out the cast of Juror #2 are Zoey Deutch, Kiefer Sutherland, Gabriel Basso, Leslie Bibb, Chris Messina, J. K. Simmons and Francesca Eastwood. 

Hoult also spoke with PEOPLE at the film's Oct. 27 premiere at the AFI Film Festival, sharing that he was "truly shocked" when Eastwood called him to join the ensemble. "It came out the blue where I got a call from my agent saying, 'Clint Eastwood wants you to do his next movie.' And I was truly shocked," he said.

"I was like, 'Surely there's been a mix-up. This has to be a mistake. How does Clint Eastwood know who I am?' And then they were like, 'No, no mistake. He does know who you are and he wants you to be in the movie,' " Hoult continued.

Juror #2 is now in select theaters.