'Bridesmaids' director: 'I'd do anything with Melissa McCarthy'

Paul Feig has praised Bridesmaids actress Melissa McCarthy's comedic performance in the film.

The director told GQ that McCarthy has an incredible comedic range as well as the ability to make more outlandish scenes seem "real" to the viewing audience, skills which came in handy on the Bridesmaids set in her role as Megan.

Feig explained: "Let any debate about 'women aren't funny' be put to rest. I would do anything with her, and she's got such range that she kind of can do anything. The worst thing you could do, if you had a Melissa McCarthy in your employ, would be, 'Can you just stick to the script?' But that happens a lot. Why the f**k would you ever do that?

"Melissa has the ability to take something that's weird or challenging and personalise it and make it real... In the bridal salon scene, she hefts the couch: 'Oh, that's nice'. I remember just telling her to jump over it. She got stuck, but she just committed to the scene."

Bridesmaids co-star Maya Rudolph also complimented McCarthy, adding: "Honestly, I've always felt that Melissa is hands down one of the most incredible performers I've ever worked with."

McCarthy recently said that she was immediately drawn to the character of Megan as she represented an interesting and sometimes perplexing personality.

Feig has claimed that a sequel to Bridesmaids is already in the early discussion stages.

McCarthy recently signed up to star in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up sequel alongside Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, and has also been nominated for a 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for her work on the sitcom Mike & Molly.