The HBO miniseries, Big Little Lies drew its curtains on Sunday. The last episode revealed the mystery of episode 1 – who was the murderer and victim? But as viewers reached the season finale, none of us were really focusing on the murder. Our Sundays revolved around the lives of three women – Madeline, Celeste and Jane.
Reese Witherspoon's portrayal of the home maker and Shailene Woodley's role of Jane, a single mother seeking revenge for being raped, were remarkable in their roles. But Nicole Kidman's Celeste got many of us thinking about marital rape, sexual abuse and physical abuse.
If it was uncomfortable for us to watch, it is hard to imagine how the actors would have prepared and portrayed the roles on the screen. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the Aquaman actress said that it took a toll on her and the Perry actor Alexander Skargard.
"There were days and days of doing a lot of aggressive, really violent scenes. And I would go home and have a shower or have a bath and I would weep," Kidman said. "And then one day, I just got a rock and I threw it through a glass door! I thought, Oh my gosh, what is happening to me? I must had a lot of pent-up [stress] because I was trying to hold it all in," she added.
Skargard added that those were horrible days and sometimes it would get tough to shoot. "But having a partner like Nicole was extraordinary. We had an opportunity to get to know each other and build trust. And we'd check in with each other and make sure everything was okay. And then we'd check in again at the end of the day because it's tough to do that for 8-10 hours and then jump in your car and go home to your family. It's intense," he said.
However, the actors are proud that the show brought light to concept of domestic violence and created so much attention.
All the episodes of Big Little Lies are available online for binge watching. Here's where you can watch them online:
Big Little Lies episode 7 is scheduled to air in India on April 4, 10 PM IST on Star World Premiere HD.
