Anna Paquin said being reunited with Sam Neill made her feel “like a little kid again”.

Hollywood star Paquin was nine when director Jane Campion cast her to appear in 1993 period drama The Piano.

It proved to be her breakout role and Paquin won the best supporting actress Academy Award at the age of 11, making her the second-youngest winner in Oscar history.

Anna Paquin
Anna Paquin has discussed reuniting with her The Piano co-star Sam Neill (Ian West/PA)

Neill also starred in The Piano and has a guest role in series two of drama Flack, which features Paquin as an American publicist living in London.

Neill, 72, plays the previously unseen partner of the PR company.

Paquin, 37, stayed tight-lipped over the specifics of Neill’s role but said: “It’s really lovely seeing him again and working with him. It’s kind of funny because I instantly felt I was about nine years old again and as if I’m not really sure what I’m doing.

“It puts you right back, transports me into feeling like a little kid again, but he’s wonderful and so talented and I’m really excited he wanted to come play with us.”

Flack, also starring Sophie Okonedo and Genevieve Angelson, features high-powered publicist Robyn, who specialises in cleaning up after her hapless clients.

The first series ended with Robyn’s personal life in tatters and she returns for new episodes determined to steer clear of drugs and alcohol – until news of an unexpected pregnancy sends her off the rails once more.

Paquin, whose other film roles include Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic The Irishman, said viewers will be given an insight into what makes Robyn tick, including discovering more about her mother, who took her own life.

“We do see her trying to put things right with various people,” Paquin said.

“That doesn’t go as well as she wants it to in some of the cases, but she is working really hard to try to mend fences. She’s also very much still the emotionally unstable, frazzled person that made those very bad choices at the end of last season.”

Six-part series Flack starts on Monday April 13 on the W channel at 10pm.