Expats' Sarayu Blue Recalls 'Fun' Working Experience with 'Wonderful' Nicole Kidman: She's 'Silly'

Mar. 15, 2025

(L-R) Sarayu Blue and Nicole Kidman.Photo:Nina Westervelt/Variety via Getty

Nina Westervelt/Variety via Getty

Work is better when you have a great teammate, which is somethingSarayu Blueknows all too well.

TheI Feel Badalum, 48, is now starring as Hilary Starr on the new Prime Video dramaExpats. Based on author Janice Y. K. Lee’s 2016 novelThe Expatriates, the six-part limited series follows the complicated personal and professional lives of a tight-knit group of expatriates residing in Hong Kong.

Being a part of the series allowed Blue to act alongsideNicole Kidman, who also serves as one of the show’s executive producers. Blue exclusively tells PEOPLE how it was a “really wonderful” experience getting to work so closely with the Oscar winner.

“The thing about Nicole is she really, really cares about the work,” Blue explains. “She’s very committed and really loves acting. It’s really fun to act with somebody who loves it that much because she also appreciates your process and what you need to do to bring something great to the table. I think we had such good chemistry that it felt very easy. It felt very fun to film with her.”

Theo Wargo/Getty

Calling theBig Little Liesstar “very generous,” Blue adds that Kidman, 56, “really brings all the energy, whether it’s on her or on you. You never feel like you’re in anything alone.”

Though there was one thing the actress didn’t expect to learn about her castmate during filming — “how silly she is and how willing she is to just play and laugh.”

“There isn’t this sort of enigmatic superstar that you would imagine,” she shares. “There really is this wonderful human being who just wants to be in this story together and have us all tell the story, and that she’s just so fun and silly.”

Sarayu Blue is pictured attending Prime Video’s ‘Expats’ New York premiere at The Museum of Modern Art on January 21, 2024 in New York City.John Nacion/WireImage

John Nacion/WireImage

Given the story being told, Blue says filming certain scenes was “intense” but also “weird because it was still really fun to work on.” However, from her perspective, “I think maybe that has to do with how much I loved doing the character, getting to sink into this role.”

She continues, “We know this is part of the gig, and we just kind of keep that sort of tension and let it be there because I think if you, at least for me, breaking the tension makes it harder to get it back for the next scene. So in a way, it was a very respectful set in that sense, truly.”

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The first two episodes ofExpatspremiere Friday on Prime Video.

source: people.com