Actress thought Meryl Streep got fired from film

Meryl Streep in a scene from the movie Into the Woods.

Actress Anna Kendrick has been left kicking herself on the set of new film Into the Woods after her co-star James Corden tricked her into thinking Meryl Streep had been fired from the movie musical.

The cheeky British funnyman portrays The Baker, opposite Kendrick as Cinderella and Streep as The Witch in the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's hit stageshow.

He reveals he managed to pull off what he's hailed as the greatest thing he's ever done by recruiting fellow castmember Christine Baranski to prank their co-workers.

He explains that while he was on set with Kendrick, two members of the crew were off to the side where they appeared to be in a heated discussion.

"Anna says, 'Oh, I wonder what that's about?' and I go, 'Oh, did you not hear that they fired Meryl?' She goes, 'Oh, shut up, James!' And I go, 'No, no, seriously, they've fired Meryl.' She goes, 'Right!'

"Then Christine Baranski walks over, who is devilishly good fun and loves a hoot, and I managed to just give her a wink as she comes over and I go, 'Is Meryl OK? I can't believe they fired her.'

"And she goes, 'She's in bits... James, I've never seen her like this. Who fires Meryl Streep?"'

When Kendrick started falling for it, Baranski added that Glenn Close was on a private jet, on her way to the set.

Corden says the joke grew to the point where even he started to wonder if it was true.

"Then Meryl comes in in her costume and then people can't believe that it was ever something they believed. I mean, who would ever (fire Meryl Streep)? It's ridiculous."

- WENN