Washington DC [US], June 12 : Actress and film producer Nicole Kidman and co-star Mark Strong shared their shooting experience for season 2 of the series 'Nine Perfect Strangers', reported People.
While season 1 was based on Liane Moriarty's novel of the same name, the second instalment wasn't, which Kidman says offered more creative freedom to explore her role more deeply.
"It was a whole new landscape the whole thing was up for grabs," she added, saying, "That's why in episode five, it's the origin story, which is really interesting. You get to see more of Masha's past and why she is who she is," reported People.
Kidman is the only returning character in season 2, where she plays Masha Dmitrichenko, a Russian wellness guru who operates a transformational retreat where participants receive psychedelic therapy to heal from trauma.
In the June 11 flashback episode, which Kidman touts is "a standalone in its own," viewers learn more about the relationship between Masha and Strong's character David Sharpe after it is revealed that he is the father of her deceased daughter, Tatiana (Emilie Paclova), as reported by People.
"When they first came up with that idea, I was like, 'Okay, now we're really onto something,'" recalled Kidman, who also serves as a producer on the show. "And the way in which Jonathan [Levine, executive producer] wanted to do it was we wanted to really give it that thriller aspect. And obviously, I get to speak Russian and Czech, and it was just like, 'Oh my god, let's go!'"
Strong shared that he hopes viewers feel like they have been "taken somewhere special" when they watch the episode.
While the first season was set in California and shot on the warm Australian coast, the second season took on a darker tone in the Austrian Alps during the winter.
"I love the Austrian Alps," said Kidman, sharing why they decided to film there. "I fell in love with that. There's something so invigorating about being outside and actually being on the locations and actually being really cold and walking in snow. And I think there's just something about the air and the water and the landscape and having it be authentic. So, we were there. The castle that we were shooting in, that was a place. It was so beautiful."
Kidman revealed they were shooting for around six months in the snowy conditions, admitting that one downside was, "we were cold out on the streets."
"You hate the cold, don't you?" said Strong, adding, "I know you."
"No, I like the cold," she explained. "It's just night shooting in the cold or that sort of thing. I'm like, 'Okay, I'm tired and I'm cold.'"
"But then that can penetrate and infiltrate the story and the performance," Kidman said of the discomfort.
While Kidman wasn't quite at ease on set, her family could enjoy the low temperatures while the Oscar-winner worked.
"They were skiing, and so that was great having things for them to do while I was working," she said of husband Keith Urban and their two daughters: Faith Margaret, 14, and Sunday Rose, 16. "They would spend a day skiing, and I would commute from a little ski lodge to work."
"I'm fortunate because of how my family is," she continued. "They can travel in the way their schooling is set up. So we're able to stay together and manoeuvre that way, which is good."
Strong, whose two kids visited him while he was filming, points out that it was also a nice opportunity to show them around Europe, reported People.
"It's not ideal being away for months and months on end, but if you see each other and there was skiing to be had the places we were, Salzburg and Munich they were beautiful," he said.
For the rest of the season, Kidman hints that there is much more of each character's storyline to "unravel," citing Masha's "unpredictable" side.
"It's a beautiful, long slow burn over the whole series," Strong adds. "That's what's clever about it," reported People.
New episodes of Nine Perfect Strangers drop every Wednesday on Hulu.
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