34 The Australian Women’s Weekly|MAY 2019
it was,‘No, I justwanttoact’,” she
says.“SomuchofthewayinwhichI
enteredactingwasthroughbooks.I’d
readcharactersandI wouldfeelone
andI wouldfallinloveandyearn.”
DirectorJaneCampionspotted
Nicole’stalentimmediately.“Iclearly
rememberfirstseeingNicat her
Sydneyteendramagroup.Theteacher
wasuponthestagecoachinganother
veryshy13-year-oldtoletgo
recklessly,togotothedepthofher
character.Thegirl,headdownand
handin pocket,listenedseriouslybut
therecklessabandonwasnotright
thenavailable.Nicole,ontheother
hand,waslistening,watching,with
thatsplendidfocusdyingtoexplode.”
NicolemeltswhenI askherif she
recallsthatpassionandit’salmostas
if sheis backonthatstagenearlyfour
decadesago.“Itwasalwayslikemy
sunandmoon.It wastheplaceI
couldgowhereI couldbesoothed.It
wasa placewhereI couldescapeand
it wasalsoa placewhereI could
explore.I think,particularlywhen
you’rea teenager,it’ssovaluable
havingsomethinglikethat.I’mglad
JanesaidthatI wasreckless. I hope
I’mstillreckless.”
Womenpower
A combinationofthatrecklessness,
Nicole’sloveofbooksanda feisty
doseofwomenpowerresultedin the
daringdramaseriesBigLittleLies
makingit toourlivingrooms.Nicole
seizedonthebook– a complextaleof
femalefriendshipanddomestic
violence– byAussieauthorLiane
Moriarty,andwasdeterminedto
bringit tolifethroughherproduction
company,BlossomFilms.Nicole
arrangedtomeetLianein a Sydney
cafein 2014andit wasa daythat
changedtheauthor’slife.
“I foundhertobewarm,funnyand
charming,”saysLiane.“I’msuresheis
usedtodealingwithpeoplebeingstar-
struckandtongue-tied,andshewas
sogoodat makingmerelaxandfeel
at ease.I neverexpecteda moviestar
tobesodowntoearth.ButafterI left
thecafe, I rememberthinking,‘Well
thatwasfun’butI honestlythought
that would be the end of it.
“I wascynical...I
saidtoher,‘I’vehad
booksoptionedbefore
soI knownottoget
tooexcited’andshe
said,‘No,no,if we
optionit,getexcited.’
I stilldidn’tbelieveher
butwhentheystarted
castingI thought,
‘Wow,they’reactually
goingtodothis’.At
thepremiereNicole
saidtome,‘I toldyou
togetexcited!’”
Nicolethrew
everythingat the
project,butbehind
herbravadoshewas
nervous.PersuadingTV
networksto embracea
showaboutwomenwas
toughevenwiththestar
powershe’d gathered,
whichincludedReese
Witherspoonasa
co-starandco-producer.
So,whentogetherthey
madeit andwoneight
EmmyAwardsanda
GoldenGlobe,shewas
gobsmacked.Thesecond
series,basedona new
novellabyLiane,screens
onFoxtelfromJune 10
andNicoleis rightly
proudofthework.
LianesaysNicolehas
beenintenselyinvolved
in thenewseries.“She’ssomeonewho
picksupthephoneandcallsrather
thantexts– that’sanunusualtraitin
themodernage.”
Lianerathercheekilysuggested
NicoleaskMerylStreeptojointhe
show.TheideawastohaveMerylplay
Nicole’scharacterCeleste’smother-in-
law.Butasit turnsout,Nicolesays
coaxingMeryl“wassurprisinglyeasy
...she’dseentheseries.Shewas‘I’min’.
Shewassoquick,whichis notherstyle.
Merylgetsofferedeverything,soforher
to dothatwasanincredibletrustin us.”
Thecamaraderieontheserieshas
resultedindeepbondsoffriendship,
especiallybetweenNicoleandReese.
The actors first met in 2002. “It wastheyearshewasnominatedfor
MoulinRouge!andI mether
backstageat theOscars.Shelooked
somuchlikea moviestarandI was
star-struck,”saysReese.
Nicolesaysthatthesecondseries
is evenmorefemale-centricthanthe
first,whichhasbeenfantastic.
“There’sallthosewomenin lead
charactersandweareallthereall
thetime,it’ssofun.Butitisalso
hardbecausethesewomenarereeling
fromanevent;a secretthattheyare
havingtokeep.”
At theendofthedaythestarswould
kickbacktogether.“Nicole,Meryl,Zoë
[Kravitz], Shailene[Woodley],Laura
[Dern] and I would go to dinner at the“My biggest wish is
that I’d had more
children.”