‘Big Little Lies’ Sex Scenes Brought Stars Together Off Screen

The first season of Big Little Lies will come to a close tonight, when HBO airs the season finale, and there’s no denying that the first installment has been an emotional roller coaster for viewers. As Nicole Kidman has previously shared, filming her scenes has been as emotionally taxing as watching has been for viewers. Now, both Kidman and her Big Little Lies co-star, Alexander Skarsgard, who plays her on screen husband, are opening up about the experience of filming those violent sex scenes and sharing how those sequences affected them both on a personal level.

Big Little Lies Stars Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard Open Up About Those Violent Sex Scenes

Nicole Kidman tells Entertainment Weekly that the Big Little Lies violent sex scenes she filmed with Alexander Skarsgard were so bad that they affected her in a similar way that real sexual assaults might have done. The Big Little Lies actress candidly reveals that the scenes sent her home in tears and says that she cried herself through hot showers and baths every day, once she was safely home.

It seems neither the crying nor the baths helped much, because, ultimately, Nicole let loose all of her frustration and pain with a violent outburst of her own.

“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 have had a lot of pent-up [stress] because I was trying to hold it all in,” recalls Kidman.

While Ms. Kidman played the victim in those Big Little Lies scenes, Alexander Skarsgard reveals that the sequences weren’t fun for anyone. He says, on top of the way those violent sex scenes affected everyone emotionally, they were physically and mentally grueling to film, because they were all shot in one long take. Every time one of those Big Little Lies scenes had to be reshot, the scene was again filmed from beginning to end without any breaks.

“Those days were horrible,” says Big Little Lies‘ Skarsgard. “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.”

Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard Bonded Over Their Big Little Lies Scenes

While filming the Big Little Lies violent sex scenes were some of the most challenging experiences of their careers, News reports that both Kidman and Skarsgard feel especially proud of the work they have done for the show. Nicole says she went home with bruises and with a “very uncomfortable” feeling, but, in the end, she feels that Big Little Lies is that much better for her sacrifices.

Even so, Kidman says she reconnected with Skarsgard after every one of those violent sex scenes, because they were so emotional and capable of really affecting each of the actors.

“We made a point of checking in with each other, giving each other a hug,” said Skarsgard. “Nicole is an incredible partner because she is so generous and so open and it makes it easier as an actor when you have a partner like that.”

Nicole Kidman says she and Skarsgard weren’t the only ones affected by the experience. When she would come home from filming one of those Big Little Lies violent sex scenes, her husband, country crooner Keith Urban, would photograph her bruised back. He was concerned for Kidman, but supportive of her artistic expression, even when it resulted in those “deep massive bruises” on her back.

“He knows that’s how I work, I don’t even notice it half the time,” says the Big Little Lies actress.

[Featured Image by HBO]