Jack Black has revealed it was a “dream come true” to work with veteran actress Shirley MacLaine on his latest project.

Mr Black plays a mortician who plots to murder a wealthy widow in Bernie, which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Speaking on the red carpet, the actor said he “loved” working with the Oscar-winning actress.

“I loved it, I’d love to do another one,” he raved. “It was a dream come true, it was everything that I’d hoped for and more.”

And despite the tight time-frame of the shoot, the pair forged a strong relationship.

“I learned so much in the short, five-week, independent film process that we had, I felt we’d worked together for years,” he revealed.

And when the time came to praise her co-star, 77-year-old Ms MacLaine didn’t fall short. She said: “He can be very dramatic, really, and very complicated – and all the time he can be funny.

“Well, we all know that, but the kind of funny that goes with real intelligence.”

The film sees Mr Black take on a darker character than much of his previous work, but he said the “complexity” of the movie was what tempted him to reunite with School of Rock director Richard Linklater.

“My favourite part of this film is the complexity,” he explained. “It’s got a lot of different levels, it works as a comedy but it also works as a crime or psychological thriller.”