Nicole Kidman Jokes She Was ‘Bats— Crazy’ During the Filming of New Hulu Series

Nicole Kidman was “bats— crazy” while getting in character for her upcoming series Nine Perfect Strangers. The actress explained how deeply she got into playing wellness resort director Masha in the upcoming series, set to be released Aug. 18 on the streamer, during a Television Critics Association panel in which she revealed she stayed in character for five months while filming.

“I’d only respond as Masha. I wanted a very calm healing energy to emanate all the time, so I remember going over to people and sort of putting my hand on their heart, holding their hand, they would talk to me or use my name Nicole when I would completely ignore them,” she shared, as per Deadline. “The only way I could actually relate to people was that way because I felt like otherwise, I would be doing a performance and I didn’t want to feel that way.”

Nine Perfect Strangers is based on the New York Times bestselling book by author Liane Moriarty and “takes place at a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation as nine stressed city dwellers try to get on a path to a better way of living,” according to the show’s synopsis.

“Watching over them during this 10-day retreat is the resort’s director, Masha, a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies. However, these nine ‘perfect’ strangers have no idea what is about to hit them,” it continues ominously. Kidman called the show “trippy” and “crazy” during the TCA panel, explaining, “When people say ‘Define what it is,’ we still can’t. I mean, I dare you to ask any of us what genre this is… we have no idea.”

The show, directed by Jonathan Levine, also stars Melissa McCarthy, Michael Shannon, Luke Evans, Bobby Cannavale, Regina Hall, Samara Weaving, Melvin Gregg, Asher Keddie, Grace Van Patten, Tiffany Boone and Manny Jacinto. Kidman said working on a series directed by just one director feels like an “extension of film” for her.

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At the same time, I started off in Australia, doing mini-series which is the equivalent of limited series… so I’ve always embraced it,” she continued of her recent work on television shows. “I just think now it’s such a fantastic landscape because you have these writers and directors who are willing to work in this in this territory.”