Michelle Monaghan: I’m a Pac-Man pro!

Michelle Monaghan's small town upbringing means she was a Pac-Man ace in her younger days.

The American actress hails from Iowa but thanks to roles in Mission: Impossible III and True Detective, Michelle is now more used to city life.

However, growing up in suburbia has stood Michelle in good stead when it comes to her latest film, computer game-based Pixels.

“I got to put my initials in [the high-score list] of Pac-Man a few times. But I came from a small town, so there wasn’t much competition," she smiled to Us Weekly.

Pixels tells the story of aliens attacking Earth with giant video game characters, after mistaking classic arcade games as a declaration of war. Adam Sandler, Peter Dinklage and Josh Gad co-star, with Michelle getting on like a house on fire with the trio.

“Adam Sandler, Peter and Josh are my favourite dudes. We barbecued on the weekends. I got to boss them around," Michelle laughed.

As well as improving her social life, Pixels gave Michelle the chance to make a project her children can watch.

She has daughter Willow and son Tommy with her husband Peter White, and doing the fun flick gave the 39-year-old the chance to show her kids her work.

"My kids don’t know what I do because they’ve never seen me on TV! Making a family movie was definitely something I wanted," she enthused.

Pixels is out in the US now and will reach UK theatres by August 12.