Elisabeth Moss says filming "Girl, Interrupted" was more like a real-life "Mean Girls," as the set split into 2 camps ... with Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder each calling shots.
The two-time Golden Globe winner -- who played Polly in the 1999 flick -- opened up about the behind-the-scenes environment for the hit flick on the podcast "Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa" ... and, she claims it was kinda like being in rival gangs.
EM says an Angelina Jolie group formed, and, apparently, she found them hella intimidating -- saying she never even considered trying to join camp AJ because they were all too cool.
Instead, Moss says she stuck with Winona and actually became pretty close friends ... who often ventured out for lunch together throughout filming.
BTW ... Elisabeth isn't saying Angelina wasn't welcoming ... just that camps came about "based on what was on camera" -- so it seems they grew apart more organically than anything.
Moss says she's seen Jolie more recently ... adding she's really a lovely person and not nearly as intimidating as she remembers from shooting.
FWIW, Winona also alluded to a divide on the set -- back in 2010, she told the Sydney Morning Herald she thought she'd become good friends with Jolie while shooting, but she felt Angelina needed to see her more as her character to deliver her best performance.
Method acting at its finest -- if Winona's assessment is correct -- and it worked, because Angelina ended up winning the 2000 Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in the flick.