No stranger to playing emotionally challenging roles, Watts is once again addressing a challenging topic.

In The Desperate Hour, the actress portrays a mother who has just discovered there is an active shooter at her son's school.

"It's a real life story that seems to come into our news feed oh too often. It's so impossible to get your head around," Watts said.

Naomi, a mother of two herself, related to her character in a very personal way.

"I just wanted to play this character because a mother who's going through this moment in real time... What is her nervous system up for? How can she come back into her power and cope with this situation? Can you as an audience member identify with this woman at that point in time?"

Watts is a vet when it comes to taking on heavy roles with serious and real-life subject matter, as the star has received Oscar nominations for her roles in The Impossible and 21 Grams.

"I tend to gravitate towards subjects of the difficult kind, that do spark up a conversation."

The Desperate Hour is in theaters and on demand now.