Edie Falco's Intense New Movie

(CBS)  Americans have learned to know and love Edie Falco in her portrayal of mob wife Carmela Soprano. But as the series heads into its final season, Falco is reluctantly preparing herself for life after "The Sopranos."

For now, she is busy promoting her intense new movie, "Freedomland." She visited The Early Show Friday morning to talk about the film and the experience of getting to know her character.

Falco plays the role of a woman whose life and work are dedicated to finding abducted children. The character is based on a real person and Falco said she was panicked about their first meeting.

"I've never done that before and I wasn't sure how I would feel about it if she was reluctant to have herself played in a movie," she told Smith. "It could have gone a number of ways."

As it turned out, it went better than she'd even hoped. "She's lovely, great, open, accessible, excited. Everything you could ask for," Falco said.

The movie's story line involves a mother, played by Julianne Moore, whose child has been abducted in a carjacking. Falco did not have children when she filmed the movie but has since adopted a little boy. And she told Smith she's not sure she could have played the part if she had been a mother then.

"I don't know the answer to that. Because it absolutely, in intrinsic ways, it changes the person you are," she said. "I can't watch news stories about children now. I was never that person. It just gets under your skin. I don't really know if I could have done it."

One role Falco has loved from the start is Carmela Soprano of "The Sopranos." The series is now in its sixth and final season, and Falco says she loves her part more than ever.

"It just gets better and better and I laugh harder and it's just great. I just couldn't say enough great things," she told Smith.

Falco says it makes her sad to think about it ending but she's looking to the future which, she hopes, will hold lots of success on the big screen.