ET sits down with Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, and Chris Messina, the stars of 'Julie & Julia,' and Streep explains what it was like to play the larger-than-life, culinary legend Julia Child.

"I'd seen the cooking shows when I was a kid so I was familiar with her," Streep tell ET's Lawrence Zarian. "She really did transform cooking in our country."

To play the role of the 6-foot-2 Julia Child, the 5-foot-6 actress had to wear platforms and heels on set. Streep tells ET about the significant role height played in Child's life.

"Her height was an important part of how people reacted to her," she says. "That was sort of an enhancement of the sizeable person that she was. I think it probably formed her as young girl to shoot up to that height. To be that height in the 40's where everyone was dainty or small and in a class of women whose aspiration was to marry well, her height probably had a lot to do with steering her on a wilder course."

Chris Messina tells ET that he feels very fortunate for the opportunity to work with such a talented group of co-stars.

"Being in a movie with Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, and Amy Adams, it's a dream," he admits. "I keep kind of pinching myself and wondering how I got to be so lucky to end up in this."

'Julie & Julia' in theaters August 7, intertwines the lives of two women from different time periods. Julia Child (Streep) the world's first female "do-it-yourself" culinary authority, and Julie Powell (Amy Adams), a lowly cubicle worker who decides to take on a writing assignment: Go through Child's cookbook and create 524 recipes in just 365 days.

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