In Reunited, Awards Insider hosts a conversation between two Emmy contenders who have collaborated on a previous project. Today, we speak with Nicole Kidman, who stars in Expats, and Reese Witherspoon, who stars in Big Little Lies. They previously worked together on Big Little Lies—and are starting to again. It’s not as often that they get to dig into their remarkable careers. The longtime friends learn new things about each other in this conversation, from each woman’s background in acting school (or lack thereof) to the secrets behind their acclaimed newest projects: for Witherspoon, the red-hot third season of The Morning Show, and for Kidman, the new Prime Video limited series Expats. Kidman is also in town for her AFI Lifetime Achievement Award honor (airing June 17 on TNT), which naturally leads to some reflection about their many decades in the business. “We’ve lived a life,” Kidman says. Watch their reunion above, and read on below for highlights from their conversation. On Their Careers: Reese Witherspoon: The thing I’ve always been pressuring you to do is either write a book—she’s never going to do it—or just let me interview her about all her different movies. Nicole Kidman: Which I might let you do at some point. And I’m like, “But you’ve got to let me do the same.” You have so much. I mean, Reese has an enormous amount of wisdom. If you get to get it, it’s like, “Tell me, what do you think?” Witherspoon: When I first got to meet Nicole, I was like, “Okay, tell me everything about To Die For,” because that’s my favorite movie you’ve ever been in. Obsessed, obsessed. I just think your character is so fascinating and calculating and shrewd, but lacks awareness. Kidman: And that was Gus Van Sant. You’ve not worked with Gus? Witherspoon: No. Kidman: You’re the Alexander Payne girl. Election? Come on. Witherspoon: And Kubrick? You were with Kubrick. Kidman: Yeah. I sat on the floor of his office, would look up at him and go, “Stanley, tell me about this. Stan…” And he would let me get away with murder, actually. I could go through everything, and no one else was allowed to do what I was allowed to do. Witherspoon: I feel like, in the history of cinema, that’s the longest running film shoot of all time. Kidman: We both started really young, which has its own set of problems—which we’ve discussed—and then also virtues. I mean, we’ve lived a life. When you start that young in the industry, you reach this age and you’ve just got so much experience. Witherspoon: I think so too. Then also you become very comfortable being uncomfortable, because you’ve literally paid your dues, being the lowest person on the totem pole to getting to become a very known actor, to becoming a producer, to being in charge. We’ve had very similar journeys like that. Kidman: I didn’t start out going, “I want to produce.” Witherspoon: Me either. It was a very natural progression. On The Morning Show: Witherspoon: I didn’t think we’d get to season four. I thought we were only going to do three seasons. But this third season— Kidman: Was phenomenal. Phenomenal. Witherspoon: Thank you, that means a lot. Kidman: And that’s why everyone’s waiting for a fourth season. I remember saying to you, “You have to do a fourth season.” And you were like, “Well…” Witherspoon: I’m like, “Not sure.” The writers are so good. What’s really interesting is that journalism is shifting. Every year that we’ve made the show, we’ve tackled #MeToo, sexual harassment in the workplace, COVID. Last year, we tackled a lot of stuff, including the insurrection, which we reenacted—my character filming it and discovering her brother was part of it. And Nic, I’m telling you: You and I both share stories. I’ve done scary things on set. Nothing was scarier than that. Kidman: Why? Witherspoon: Because even when people are pretending, mob mentality is a real thing. If you tell a group of 100 people to behave in a certain way and lose control, and we were on a one-shot Steadicam through a crowd—over, downstairs, up through it. All the performers were amazing, but it’s scary and they’re punching each other and tear-gassing each other. It was daunting to walk into that and be the only woman. But I was really excited about these storylines, because it gave me so much to play and ask this central question that now I like to ask at dinner parties, which is: “Would you compromise your life, your career, your job for a family member who committed a crime?” Kidman: Yeah. Witherspoon: You would? If your sister committed a crime, would you cover it up? Kidman: I mean, but to me…she wouldn’t commit a crime. [Laughs] Witherspoon: By the way, that’s the whole theme of Big Little Lies. Kidman: So just you wait. On Big Little Lies Season 3, and Laura Dern: Witherspoon: Listen, this one already went somewhere. I get the ring ring: “Hey, is [season 3] happening?” Like, Nic! Kidman: “What are you doing?” Witherspoon: You got excited. Kidman: I got excited. Witherspoon: It’s okay, baby. I get excited too. Then I’ve got Laura [Dern] calling me, and Zoe [Kravitz] and Shailene [Woodley]. They’re all like, “Nic said that we’re making Big Little Lies season three?” Kidman: But we are now! We’re moving fast and furious, and Liane [Moriarty] is delivering the book. Yeah, and we’re in good shape. The rest is—we need to shut up, because there’s this whole thing that you should never talk about something until you’ve done it. If you talk about doing it, it’s the dopamine hit of doing it. You feel like you’ve done it. Did you know that? Have you heard about that? It’s a scientific study. Witherspoon: Well, I have a rule. It’s called, “Don’t be full of shit.” [Laughs] It’s called “The No-BS Rule in Hollywood,” because how many people tell you they’re doing X, Y, Z, X, Y, Z? It’s like, “I don’t want to talk about it until I’m standing in the costume on the set.” Then I will confirm to you that it’s happening. It’s really hard to stop it once you’re standing on set in costume. On Big Little Lies, we were so delirious. Don’t you remember? I’d lost my cool. Screamed! Kidman: Then you came out and you were amazing. And you and Laura did that one night. Witherspoon: You can’t put Dern and I next to each other. We’re like little kids in a classroom. You’re like, “Do we need to separate you two? We’re going to have to separate you guys, because we need to get to work.” Kidman: Remember that scene where you were both ad-libbing? I sat there and was like, “That’s it. That’s it!” All I could do was—my jaw dropped as you guys improvised back and forth. It was hilarious. I was like, “You two…?” And you’re like, “We just know each other so well. This is what we do, don’t worry about it.” Witherspoon: My favorite thing is when Dern does scenes where she gets in your face like this. [Impersonates Dern] Like, “Let me tell you something!” We were literally arguing about our daughters’ birthday party and I’m like, “My daughter’s not coming to your daughter’s birthday party.” She’s like, “Let me tell you something…. If your daughter doesn’t come to my Frozen party…” Kidman: I looked at [director] Jean-Marc [Vallée] and he’s like, “Fantastic! We got it.” Witherspoon: My other favorite thing is that I called Dern when we were shooting Big Little Lies— Kidman: I hate how you call her Dern, though. It sounds weird. I’m always like, “Laura.” And you’re like, “No, Dern. Dern. Dern.” Witherspoon: I’m going to tell you why. My name’s Laura and her name’s Laura, and it’s confusing to me. My real name’s Laura Jeanne. I get confused, so I just call her Dern. Kidman: She doesn’t call you Laura, though. Anyway. Witherspoon: [Jokingly] I don’t understand your point, and I don’t like your tone…. Anyway, I called her a week into shooting Big Little Lies. I was like, “Dern, I was so funny today. Oh, my God,” and she’s like, “Reese, I was so funny in my scene yesterday.” I was like, “I know, I know, I know, I know—but hold on. Then I went to work today and Nicole’s in the most serious drama I’ve ever seen.” I was like, “This show is not going to work.” Kidman: It’s not going to work. That’s right. I’m like, “Oh, my God, this is—” Witherspoon: And it freaking worked. Kidman: That’s where you go, “You just don’t know.” Witherspoon: Who would’ve ever thought? On Expats, Starting Out, and Staying Close: Witherspoon: You’re very good at casting too. You’ll say something to me like, “Reese, did you see this show? This one actor on that show is the standout. It’s not the one they’re talking about, it’s the other one.” On Expats, what was that process like, finding the cast? Kidman: That was Lulu [Wang] and me, the two of us going, “Wow, did you see Ji-young [Yoo] and her audition?” And then Lulu goes, “Yeah, but I want her to do it again, because it’s too glamorous.” And then I remember we both were in love with Brian [Tee], so we were like, “We’ve got to get him. Please, Brian Tee,” and he just came and delivered for us. And Sarayu [Blue]—we knew she could be funny, but she’s also drama. She’s got it. That’s you, though. You’re the same. You can learn slabs of dialogue, literally, on the spot. I’m learning it weeks before, and Reese will go—and then she’ll riff! Witherspoon: Well, because I don’t really learn it, I just wing it. Kidman: It’s, like, insane. How? [Pause] She doesn’t want to talk. Witherspoon: I don’t want to talk about it because I also don’t understand. I have zero process. I didn’t study. That’s the other thing. You didn’t go to acting school, did you? Kidman: No, I did. When I was 14, I went to the local theater school. Witherspoon: But you didn’t go to Juilliard or RADA. Kidman: The directors who I worked with, George Miller being one of them, asked me not to go to NIDA, because I wanted to go to NIDA. They’re like, “You’re in the industry working and you will be gone then for three years. Please, don’t do that, stay with us and we promise you…” And they gave me the guidance that I needed, because other actors go. I would train with different people that were teaching at NIDA, or I would go and do a workshop in Shakespeare. But I was also, every weekend, in drama school. Did you do that? Witherspoon: I just didn’t go to acting school. I did little local things in Nashville, and then I got a big part when I was 14, and I never studied again, because I was like, “I’m on a roll here and I’m going to undo anything that is natural.” Kidman: Our paths consistently cross, and that’s one of the things I love about us. We started working together and we went, “Okay, from this point on, it’s a lifetime.” We’ll be playing bridge and I’ll be older than you, but we’ll be sitting there. I’ll be like, “Can you get me the cover?” Witherspoon: We always joke that we’re going to be old ladies on a porch singing that song. What song? Kidman: Oh, don’t! “Dreams.” We still don’t know all the words, do we? Witherspoon: We still don’t know the words. Kidman: Jean-Marc Vallée would want us to sing all the time. Witherspoon: We were on vacation once and they started playing the music and we got up and sang. We couldn’t remember it. I’m like, “Come on.” We couldn’t remember any of the words. Stevie Nicks would be horrified. This interview has been edited and condensed. Listen to Vanity Fair’s Little Gold Men podcast now.
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