In the movie The Kitchen, Melissa McCarthy, Elisabeth Moss and Tiffany Haddish play meek wives who take over their mobster husbands' extortion racket when the men go to jail - and end up being frighteningly good at it.

Chatting with The Straits Times in Los Angeles on Sunday, the trio reveal how they leaned into their own power as three of Hollywood's top actresses, producers and comediennes - and learnt to both lead and ask for what they want.