(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Cameron Diaz says her Bad Teacher character is "genius".

The Hollywood actress plays a foul-mouthed, lazy and selfish middle school teacher called Elizabeth Halsey in the upcoming comedy, who pursues her colleague.

Cameron, who stars alongside Justin Timberlake and Jason Segel in the movie, was unimpressed after initially reading the script.

The star soon realised, however, that the part would be a fun one to play.

"The first 30 pages I was like, I'm not playing this character, I can't play this character, there are no redeeming qualities about this character.' And by the end of it I was like, Oh my God, this is genius! There's no redeeming qualities about this character!'" she laughed in an interview with MTV.

Cameron revealed it was thrilling to play a role that pushes the boundaries. The 38-year-old beauty claims it is a rarity in film these days, so she grabbed the challenge with both hands.

"It got to the end of the script and we're not apologising for anything," she added. "It's amazing that it exists in this movie because it is so rare. I was just so thrilled, it's so refreshing." (C) Cover Media