NICOLE UP CLOSE

“Part of my mission is to give chances to creatives, women especially, who haven’t really had the opportunity – it’s my greatest thrill”

Last year, every Friday night for five months, the 200-strong cast and crew of miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers were gifted surprise treats after a gruelling week of shooting. Food trucks carrying ice-cream, pizzas and burgers would weave through the picturesque Byron Bay hinterland and park on the lush grounds of Soma retreat (or Tranquillum House, as it’s called in the series), ready to reward exhausted workers. It was a tradition dreamt up by Nicole Kidman, who produces and stars as mysterious healer Masha in the highly anticipated TV drama. “All the key cast would pitch in to pay, but Nicole took the role of gift-giver to a whole other level,” recalls producer Jodi Matterson, whose company, Made Up Stories, worked with Kidman’s Blossom Films to bring the project to life. “Each week, she’d up the ante by giving piccolos of bubbly, boxes of cupcakes, steamed dumplings from food vans. Then on our last day, Nic gave everyone a special goodbye gift with a personal note. I’ve never worked with anyone who’s gone to such extremes to make people feel appreciated, acknowledged and valued. She’s a class act.”

Nicole Kidman’s, she fiercely championed Asher Keddie (who got the part). She’s pushed hard for Australian female filmmakers and writers to see their work come to fruition and attract global acclaim. And at the start of the pandemic she moved the entire production of from California to Byron, offering a financial lifeline when hundreds faced months of zero work.