It's been five years since Nicole Kidman & Reese Witherspoon starred in HBO's 'Big Little Lies.' Nicole and Reese reunite to discuss everything from hanging out often IRL to their latest projects 'The Morning Show' and 'Expats.'
All episodes of The Morning Show are currently streaming on Apple TV+.
All episodes of Expats are currently streaming on Prime Video.
Director: Funmi Sunmonu
Director of Photography: AJ Young
Editor: Alex Mechanik
Talent: Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon
Producer: Sydney Malone
Line Producer: Romeeka Powell
Production Manager: Andressa Pelachi
Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes
Associate Director, Talent : Meredith Judkins
Camera Operator: Lucas Vilicich
Sound : Paul Cornett
Production Assistant: Brock Spitaels and Lauren Boucher
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Assistant Editor: Fynn Lithgow
Filmed on Location at: Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills’
All episodes of The Morning Show are currently streaming on Apple TV+.
All episodes of Expats are currently streaming on Prime Video.
Director: Funmi Sunmonu
Director of Photography: AJ Young
Editor: Alex Mechanik
Talent: Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon
Producer: Sydney Malone
Line Producer: Romeeka Powell
Production Manager: Andressa Pelachi
Production Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes
Associate Director, Talent : Meredith Judkins
Camera Operator: Lucas Vilicich
Sound : Paul Cornett
Production Assistant: Brock Spitaels and Lauren Boucher
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Assistant Editor: Fynn Lithgow
Filmed on Location at: Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills’
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hi, honey. How are you? I'm good. How are you? Good. Good. I'm so excited to do this. Yeah
00:07Because I don't get to see you enough in person. We see each other quite a bit. Yeah, so you do this is not like
00:14Reunited and it feels so good
00:18God we're going on the road
00:20And
00:25We see each other a lot in Nashville, yeah
00:27We walk around caps on and yeah, we walk in the woods. We laugh and and sort of
00:34Process everything figure out all the problems. Yes solve all the problems. Yes, and then just
00:41See you later. Yeah
00:43Then we go home and then yeah, my favorite thing is and the thing I've always been pressuring her to do is
00:49Either
00:51Write a book
00:52Which I know she's never gonna do it or just let me interview her about all her different movies
00:59Which I may let her do
01:01At some point and I'm like, but you got it. Let me do the same. Okay. Yeah, I guess you have so much
01:07I mean Reese has an enormous amount of wisdom which if you get to get it
01:12It's like tell me what do you think when I first got to meet Nicole? I was like, okay
01:16Tell me everything about to die for cuz that's my favorite movie ever been is it obsessed?
01:23Obsessed. I just think your character is so
01:27fascinating and
01:28calculating and shrewd but
01:30Lacks awareness and and that was Gus Van Sant who you've not worked with guys. No, no, you're the Alexander Payne girl
01:38Yeah, yeah
01:39Amazing. Yeah election. Come on. So I'm in Gala. Yeah and Kubrick and she's
01:47Yeah, I did
01:49I sat on the floor of his office would look up at him and go Stanley tell me about this day and he would let
01:55Me get away with murder actually
01:57Like I could go through everything and and no one else was allowed to do what I was allowed to do
02:03But I feel like in the history of cinema, that's the longest-running film shoot of all time
02:08Yeah, it was two years. I don't know. Is it now see we love movie. We love
02:14I'll be like, where are you just like and we both started really young which has its own set of
02:20Problems, which we've discussed and then also virtues because it's given us a sort of I mean we've lived a life
02:28I mean you start that young in the industry. Yeah, you reach this age and it's um, I mean you've just got so much
02:36Experience, I think so, too. And then also
02:40You become very comfortable being uncomfortable
02:43mmm, because you've literally paid your dues being the lowest person on the totem pole to getting to
02:51Become a very known actor to becoming a producer to being in charge
02:55Yeah, so we've had very similar journeys like that. I didn't start out going. I want to produce me either
03:01No, so it was this very very natural. Yeah progression. Yeah. Also you read as much as I do
03:09You love reading. Yeah, and so we're
03:13Yeah, and and love people now tell me about morning show I didn't think we'd get to season four
03:19I thought we were only gonna do three seasons, but this third season
03:23It was phenomenal. Oh, thank you, honey. Phenomenal. Thank you
03:27And it means that's why everyone's waiting for a fourth season and I remember saying to you you have to do a fourth season
03:34Yeah, and you were like, well
03:36This is always this one was well, I'm like, I'm not sure
03:42The writers are so good and I think what's really interesting as a journalism is shifting
03:49Every year that we've made the show we've we've tackled me to sexual harassment in the workplace
03:56COVID a
03:57Pandemic. Yeah, and last year we tackled a lot of stuff including the insurrection. Yeah, we reenacted
04:03yeah, which was my character filming it and
04:07Discovering her brother was part of it and you and I both share stories. I've done scary things on set
04:12Nothing was scarier than that because even when people are pretending mob mentality is a real thing
04:18And if you tell a group of a hundred people to behave in a certain way and lose control
04:24Mm-hmm for and we were on like a one shot
04:28like a
04:29Steadicam threw a crowd over downstairs up through who shot that Stacy Passen was the director
04:36I don't want to say the wrong DP because we had to it was really good and all the star performers were amazing
04:41But it's scary
04:42Yeah
04:42And they're punching each other and tear-gassing each other and and I'm not saying that was
04:46Really, but it was daunting to walk into that and be the only woman
04:50But I was really excited about these storylines because it gave me so much to play
04:54Yeah, and and ask this sort of central question that now I like to ask at dinner parties, which is oh good
05:00What is it? Would you compromise?
05:02Your life your career your job
05:05For a family member who committed a crime
05:09Yeah, you would yeah like if your sister committed a crime would you cover it up I mean but to me
05:17She wouldn't commit
05:21Oh, by the way, that's the whole theme of big
05:30So just you wait
05:33Yeah, listen this one already we are somewhere
05:38And then I get the call the ring ring hey like is that happening
05:43What are you doing? You got excited? I got excited. Okay, baby. I get excited, too
05:50Laura calling me
05:52They're all like Nick said that we're making them feel like there's like it but we are now
05:57Yeah, we're we're moving early and furious fast and Leon is delivering the book
06:03And yeah, and we're we're in good shape. Yeah, so
06:08The 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
06:14Because if you talk about doing it, it's the dopamine hit of doing it right you feel like you've done it, right?
06:21Do you know that have you heard about that? Oh, no, but I have a it's a scientific study. Oh
06:27Yeah. Well, I have a rule. It's called like don't be full of shit. Oh, that's a good one
06:33It's called the no BS rule in Hollywood because how many people tell you they're doing XYZ XYZ
06:39Yeah, it's like I don't want to talk about it until I'm standing. Yeah in the costume on the set
06:44Then I will confirm to you. Yeah, it is happening because it's really hard to stop it
06:49What you're standing on set in costume fun big little light. Yeah, we were so it was delirious
06:55Don't you remember? I like oh, yes my cool. Yeah screamed
06:58Yeah, and then I mean you came out and you were amazing
07:01So I was like what and then you and Laura did that like one night. I
07:07Mean you can't put dirt
07:09We're like little kids in a classroom. You're like, do we need to sell a you dairy?
07:13We're gonna have to separate you guys cuz we need to get to work
07:17No, and I sat there remember that scene where you were both ad-libbing and I sat there and was like
07:22Like that that is in the that's in it
07:26Cuz all I could do is my my jaw dropped right as you guys
07:31like it was like improvised back and forth and it was
07:36Hilarious yeah, and I was like you two and you're like, oh we just know each other. So well
07:41No, this is what we should worry about. This is my favorite thing when Dern does scenes where she gets
07:46Oh, yeah, and I was like, oh, let me tell you something
07:49Yeah, you look we were like and I'm like and we were literally arguing about our daughter's birthday party
07:55Yeah, and it was like my daughter's not coming to your daughter's genius
08:00Yeah
08:03Frozen party, I like you Madeline and and I actually admire you for sticking up for your unapologetic friend
08:11But if I can offer something as objectively as I possibly can
08:19I looked at Jean-marc and he's like fantastic. We got it
08:25I'm so crazy. I would think so. I think we thought it
08:30Right, yeah, I'm scared. Yeah, you're right. Okay fine
08:33My other favorite thing is that I called turn when we were shooting big little eyes
08:37I hate how you call it done though. Why because it sounds weird. I'm gonna tell you what sounds like, okay
08:42Why I'm always like Laura, do you know why and you're like no Dern Dern Dern cuz my name is Laura
08:50And her name is Laura and it's confusing to me. Oh, my real name is Laura Jean. That's right
08:55So I get confused I just called her and call I don't know why okay, so that's why I called her
09:01Cuz we can't both be Laura
09:03She doesn't call you Laura though
09:06Anyway, anyway
09:09Yeah, I'm trying to understand so I said no, it's just doesn't make sense
09:13It's Dern, but my favorite thing was I called her like a week into shooting and we were shooting the guys and I caught her
09:19I was like Dern
09:21Hunter I was so funny today. Haha. Oh my god
09:25She's a freak freak freak. I was so funny in my scene yesterday
09:30I was like, I was like, I know I know I know I know I know but hold on
09:34Then I went to work today and Nicole's in the most serious drama. I've ever
09:41Right and I was like this show is not gonna work
09:48That's right we what I'm like, oh my god, this is my freaking worked
09:55That's where you go. You just don't know who would have ever thought who would have ever thought
10:03You're very good at casting too
10:06Well, I don't know. I'm like, yeah, you'll say something to me like race
10:11Did you see this show this one actor on that show is the standout?
10:16It's not the one they're talking about. It's the other one right on expats
10:20What was that process like finding the cast that was Lulu and so international the two of us going Wow
10:27Did you see G young and and her her audition and then Lulu going? Yeah, but I don't I want her to do it again
10:34Because it's too glamour. Oh, you know so many different and watching her
10:38Kind of handpick and then I remember we both were in love with Brian
10:42So we were like we've got to get him, please Brian T and he just came and delivered for us
10:48And sorry you I mean she came in and just we knew she could be funny, but she's also drama
10:53She's got great. That's you though. You're the same. I mean you're dramatic and you know, I always go come on and she can learn
11:02slabs of
11:03Dialogue literally you can learn it on the spot. I'm learning it weeks before and race ago
11:12And then she'll riff well, you know you will I don't because I don't really learn it
11:17I know because we've got now you've learned it. It's like insane. It's how I
11:24Know she doesn't want to talk
11:26Yeah, but it's I also don't understand. I have zero process. I didn't study right? That's the other thing
11:31You didn't go to acting school. Did you know I did when I was 14
11:35I went to the local theater school that I found you didn't buy a leotard or Rada
11:40I had the directors who I worked with George Miller being one of them Phil noise
11:44Bunch of them asked me not to go to NIDA because I wanted to go to NIDA and they're like you're in the industry working
11:51Right, and you will be gone then for three years
11:54Right, please don't do that. Stay with us and I promise you you and they gave me good advice
12:00well
12:00they gave me the guidance that I needed because other actors go and I so then what I did is I would
12:07train with different people that were teaching at NIDA. Mm-hmm, or I would go and do a
12:13Workshop in Shakespeare. Mm-hmm, or I would go and do but I was also every weekend in the drama school
12:19Oh, wow, what about did you do that? I just didn't go little local
12:23I did little local things in Nashville
12:25And then I got a big part when I was 14 and I never studied again
12:29Because I didn't want to undo I was like, I'm on a roll here and yeah undo anything
12:33That was sort of natural. So you learned on the job. Yeah
12:38And the people that you have you had the benefit of working with some of the greatest people in the industry
12:44So they were able to yeah, and I shake you so many actors like the best actors
12:48I know are just pretending to be like other actors
12:51That they love, you know, what our paths
12:55Consistently cross and that's one of the things I love and I love that about us is that we started working together
13:01Then we went okay from this point on it's a lifetime
13:04Yeah, so we'll be playing bridge and I'll be older than you but we'll be sitting there
13:16Wait, we always joke that we're gonna be all ladies on a porch singing. What's on what's on don't dreams
13:23We still don't know
13:26And the Jean-marc valet would want us to sing all the time
13:30Yeah, cuz we were on vacation once in it
13:33They started playing the music and we all sang we couldn't remember like get up get up
13:37I'm like, come on, and we didn't remember any of the words. Oh, Stevie would be horrified
13:47You want your freedom