Meghan Markle is excited to be back on set.

The Duchess of Sussex, 44, is making her return to acting in the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios film Close Personal Friends, where she’ll play herself in a small part.

Meghan was photographed on the Pasadena, California, set on Wednesday, Nov. 5, and an insider tells PEOPLE, “She introduced herself as ‘Meghan.’ Everything about her was very sweet and calm.”

“She genuinely seemed excited to be on set,” the insider adds. “She was joking that she felt a bit rusty, but it was obvious that she had rehearsed and that it was a big deal for her to be back. And she was great.”

“She had a very warm energy, too. She was super pleasant to be around,” the source says.

PEOPLE has reached out to a spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex for comment.

Close Personal Friends — starring Brie Larson, Lily Collins, Jack Quaid and Henry Golding — will follow a couple who befriend a famous couple during a trip to Santa Barbara, per The Hollywood Reporter.

After finding success in Hollywood, including working as a series regular on the legal drama Suits, Meghan stepped back from acting ahead of her 2018 marriage to Prince Harry.

A studio source previously told The Sun: “This is a massive moment for Meghan and signifies a return to doing what she truly loves. She has been swamped with offers, but this one felt right.”

“It is Meghan’s way of gently putting her toe back in the water and seeing how she enjoys being back on set,” the source said. “Everyone involved is super-excited and have been sworn to secrecy about her involvement.”

The source added that Harry is “really supportive” and “quite simply wants Meghan to do whatever brings her joy.”

Meghan spoke about stepping back from acting during her 2017 engagement interview with Prince Harry.

“I don’t see it as giving anything up, I just see it as a change,” she said at the time. “It’s a new chapter. Right. And also keep in mind I’ve been working on my show for seven years. So we’re very very fortunate to be able to have that sort of longevity on a series and for me, once we hit the 100-episode marker I thought, you know what, I have ticked this box and I feel really proud of the work I’ve done there and now it’s time to, as you said, work as a team with you.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from their royal roles in 2020 and now are raising their two children, 6-year-old son Prince Archie and 4-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet, in Meghan’s home state of California. However, despite settling in Montecito, within a couple of hours’ drive from Los Angeles, Meghan reiterated that she wasn’t interested in a return to acting in a 2022 interview with Variety.

“I’m done. I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not,” she said then.

Meghan has continued to work in front of the camera, though. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex starred in the docuseries Harry & Meghan on Netflix, and she starred in two seasons of her lifestyle series With Love, Meghan for the streamer, with an upcoming holiday special just announced to air Dec. 3.