In her new movie New in Town, Renee Zellweger plays a hard-driving executive who comes to a local community to get a small factory back on track.

Shooting took place in winter in Winnepeg, Canada,--in temperatures that the actress says created some embarrassing occupational hazards!

"Nostricles! Which are not sexy," the Oscar-winner tells Parade.com. "You don't know your nose is running because you can't feel it. It just freezes before you realize you need a Kleenex. Boy, I tell you, that's funny!"

In the movie, Zellweger prances around in the snow and bitter cold sometimes wearing nothing more than a business suit and heels. She admits the temperatures dropped so low, at times she felt she put herself at risk.

"[It's] so cold that you're taking your life into your own hands to out of the house," she explained. "So cold that wearing the clothes I did on set, the little skirts and thin jackets, was really stupid even if it did look funny. My only defense was lots of pantyhose--like three or four pairs."

New in Town required Zellweger to perform a lot of physical comedy--something she hasn't really done since Bridget Jones' Diary.

"I have such a good time making a jerk out of myself," she says. "That's play to me, seeing how you can make it funnier by falling down or stumbling or whatever. Of course, there can be a little pain involved. I had bruises of very interesting colors."