John Malkovich Says Opus Costar Ayo Edebiri Paid Up After Losing a $10 Bet to Him: 'She's a Person of Honor' (Exclusive)

Ayo Edebiri is a woman of her word, according to John Malkovich.

Malkovich, 71, humorously noted that he once won $10 from his Opus costar Edebiri, 29, over a bet regarding whether the actress and comedian would take her parents to an awards show. The Oscar-nominated actor shared the story while speaking with PEOPLE at the Wednesday, Feb. 19 premiere of their new A24 movie in Los Angeles.

"I was thinking about Ayọ on the way here. She's very, very bright," Malkovich says, when asked about working with Edebiri, who is best known for her role on Hulu's The Bear. "She's very quick-witted, and great fun, and smart, and I think a really fine colleague as well. And I'm especially happy with her because I bet her she would let her parents go to the awards event she was up for last year. She bet me $10 she wouldn’t and she lost."

"But she's a person of honor," Malkovich adds. "I have that $10 right here in my billfold."

In Opus, Edebiri portrays a journalist named Ariel Ecton, who inadvertently attends what appears to turn into a cult gathering after she is invited to spend a weekend at a reclusive musician's compound to participate in an "exclusive listening experience" for his new album. Malkovich portrays the pop star in question, Moretti.

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"Surrounded by the star's cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan," reads an official synopsis for the film, which also stars Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder, Stephanie Suganami, Young Mazino and Tatanka Means.

Malkovich notably sings and performs in Opus as his character Moretti; the actor also tells PEOPLE that he "hadn't really sung except for when my children were very small." (He shares two kids with longtime partner Nicoletta Peyran.)

"I used to sing and play the guitar in bars and coffee houses, that kind of thing, when I was young in university. And I sang in an opera or two," he says. "But it was never my dream to be a pop star, because there are quite good pop stars, so why should I be one? But it was a great experience to get to do that. It was something I never dreamed I would do and was exciting and challenging."

Opus is in theaters March 14.