Renee Zellweger says fans shout her iconic 'Jerry Maguire' line at her "a couple of times" a week.

Renee Zellweger

Renee Zellweger

The 50-year-old actress caused tears all around the world when she starred as single mother Dorothy Boyd in the 1996 romantic comedy and uttered the words "you had me at hello" to Tom Cruise's titular sports agent character

But 24 years since the film's release, Renee still gets people utter the memorable words to her when she's out and about and it always makes her proud.

When asked how many times a week does she hear the line, she told OK magazine: "Not enough! Maybe a couple of times. I don't go out much so it would be weird if I heard it a lot.

"It still touches me. What a cool thing that somebody give you a line like that!"

The Oscar-winning actress can still remember landing her breakthrough role starring alongside Tom, after a jaw-dropping phone call with the movie's director Cameron Crowe.

She recalled: "I was at the Sundance Film Festival with my whole family and my phone rang and it was the director, Cameron. I was like, 'Just hurry up and break my heart already!' And he said, 'I was just wondering if maybe you want the part?'

"I told him I'd have to see if I was available, and I was. The next day it was in Variety magazine and my brother went out to buy a stack of them. It was so sweet I could cry thinking about it."

Unlike other Hollywood stars Renee - who has been nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Judy Garland biopic 'Judy' at this year's Academy Awards, a role that has already earned her a Golden Globe - first caught the acting bug when she reached college after filming a student flick.

She explained: "In college on the set of a student film we were making. We were on a set in the middle of nowhere and I got the bug.

"I didn't understand why this felt very important to me, but I just couldn't wait for the next opportunity."