Nicole Kidman reveals her regular pre-camera ritual With Morgan Freeman

Nicole Kidman is reflecting on the routine with her Lioness co-stars, Morgan Freeman and Michael Kelly before cameras roll.

Speaking at Paramount+’s The Icons of Taylor Sheridan’s Universe event in April, Kidman explained that understanding every line is essential to making the dialogue sound natural.

“We have to understand every single thing we’re saying,” she said of the scripts. “And that is a huge (undertaking).”

The actress said the cast needs to make the dialogue feel conversational, despite the complexity of the material.

“It has to come trippingly off your tongue. You have to understand everything, and it has to (seem like) something that you are using as everyday language all the time, which obviously we’re not,” she said.

Kidman added that she and her co-stars regularly “run lines” before filming, but their preparation goes beyond simply memorising dialogue.

“We also do, ‘What does that mean? Decipher it.’ Definition, definition, definition. So that we constantly understand what we’re talking about,” she said.

On LionessKidman plays CIA supervisor Kaitlyn Meade, while Kelly portrays CIA Deputy Director of Operations Byron Westfield and Freeman plays Secretary of State Edwin Mullins. Zoe Saldaña stars as CIA officer Joe McNamara, who leads the undercover team.

The series returned for its third season on Aug. 2 on Paramount +.