Gabourey Sidibe Learned to Take Time to 'Re-Fall in Love' with Herself Following the Birth of Her Twins (Exclusive)

Gabourey Sidibe has a message for her fellow working moms.

While speaking with PEOPLE for her upcoming role in Lifetime's Give Me Back My Daughter, the Empire actress, 41, opened up about how she's balancing her work life with motherhood. This project marks Sidibe's return to acting after welcoming her 11-month-old twins Cooper and Maya with her husband Brandon Frankel. Sidibe says that while "motherhood is so consuming" this movie helped remind her of the importance of taking time for herself.

"I would say take the time to — it feels stupid to say — hold space for yourself," she tells PEOPLE. "Take the time and enjoy this peace, where there's not a tiny human asking you for things at all times. But, [also] really remember who you are. Really take the time and take the space to do it and re-fall in love with yourself really. Because truly, motherhood is so consuming."

"All I needed to do every single day was just focus on my lines, focus on my work, hit my marks, and drink water and mind my business," she continues, adding that while it was hard at first, she found comfort in knowing her twins were safe. "That was really, really, really wonderful to have that space to do."

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Related: Gabourey Sidibe Shares Plans for Her Twins’ First Birthday — and Why They Won’t Be Having Cake (Exclusive)

As she found her groove on set, she also remembered why she fell in love with acting. The Precious star says that after a few days taking on the role of Renee, a single mom who's fighting to regain custody of her daughter, she realized that she was "capable" of doing her job well.

"I called my husband and I was like, 'Wait a minute, I think I remember that I'm good at this, ... and I feel like I'm doing a good job and I feel capable,'" she says. "I kind of just forgot that I was capable of doing something like this, because motherhood really just ... steals who you are for just a little tiny bit and you forget because then all you are is just a mom."

Beyond remembering that there's more to her than motherhood, the Tower Heist actress also relearned the importance of leaning on a strong support system through her role.

"It's really hard to admit that you are struggling," Sidibe tells PEOPLE. "While I was playing this role, it really helped me to remember that when I feel like I'm being buried, it is really important for me to reach out to my village and ask for help, and that there's no shame in it."

"It took me a bit of time to even admit that, because I want to feel like, 'Oh, I'm strong. I got it. It's not that hard. People have babies every day. It's not that big a deal. I can do this,' " she continues. "I really wanted to be a superhero."

"I have friends that [are] like, 'Listen, seriously, if it's 3 in the morning and you need to call me and you just want to cry over the phone, please do that. I won't even say anything. I will pick up the phone and just let you scream,' " she says, adding she's still adjusting to leaning on when she needs help. "I'm very fortunate to have enough mom friends, and even my friends that aren't moms, but are deeply empathetic and know me so well. They've all been so useful and my village is really strong."

Although her babies stayed home in Los Angeles while she was filming in Atlanta, Sidibe says the crew helped make it easier to keep her connected with her little ones.

"They were really, really, really dope and really understanding," she adds. "Because of the time difference, we would still be working, but the kids are going to bed, so I would FaceTime them before bed every night. And so they were great with just sort of letting me step away for just a few minutes, so that I can sing my weird dumb songs to the babies, which was really nice. So, I kind of kept them with me anyway."

Give Me Back My Daughter premieres on Lifetime on Saturday, April 5 at 8 p.m. EST/PT.

Read the original article on People