Dakota Fanning said ‘yes' to ‘The Perfect Couple' the moment she heard Nicole Kidman was involved, without knowing anything else about the show

Dakota Fanning laughs while recalling her spontaneous decision to join Netflix's suspense drama The Perfect Couple. "The first thing they said was, 'You're Nicole [Kidman]'s daughter-in-law, you're pregnant, and you're the murderer,' and I was like, 'Yes!'"
The Emmy-nominated actor tells Gold Derby, "I was introduced to the project through Susanne Bier, who I had worked with before and became very close to. She called me, and told me a bit about the character. I don't even think she told me the title of the show or the book that it was based on. She said Nicole Kidman was involved, and I said yes. That was my introduction to it, and then, of course, I read the scripts and found out who was playing all the other parts, and as the cast was coming together I got more and more excited, but Susanne and Nicole were the two biggest draws for me."
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The actress "would do anything for Susanne" and had never worked with Kidman before. "I was super excited to do that, and it just came together in the most seamless way," she continues. "The story turned out to be so juicy, and I was getting to play a character that I really felt like I had never played before. I got to be a part of such an incredible ensemble of actors, and we just had the absolute best time."
SEE 'The Perfect Couple': Nicole Kidman is awards-bound for juicy Netflix hit
The Perfect Couple was created by showrunner Jenna Lamia and Emmy-winning director Bier, based on Elin Hilderbrand's 2018 novel. The six-part mystery limited series stars Oscar and Emmy winner Kidman as celebrated author Greer Garrison Winbury, with nine-time Emmy nominee Liev Schreiber playing her husband Tag. Eve Hewson and Billy Howle portray engaged couple Amelia Sacks and Benji Winbury, Emmy nominee Meghann Fahy plays Amelia's best friend, and Fanning co-stars as Benji's sister-in-law Abby, with Jack Reynor, Ishaan Khatter, and Donna Lynne Champlin rounding out the ensemble cast.
Set in the luxury of Nantucket, the story follows the extravagant wedding of Amelia and Benji, which is thrown into chaos when a dead body is found on the morning of the ceremony. As investigators dig deeper, long-buried secrets come to light, placing everyone in the wedding party under suspicion. The series blends elements of mystery and family drama, exploring the darker undercurrents of privilege, love, and deception, keeping viewers on edge through its twists and layered storytelling.
"Susanne's just the greatest partner an actor could have," Fanning proclaims. "Jack Reynor, who played my husband; it was like we were on our own show, the two of us a lot of the time, doing our own thing. We became so close. He's such a great actor. We leaned into the heightened nature of our characters and their marriage and had the greatest time. There was not one person that didn't just fit right in, like we all just became really fast friends. Eve is one of my really good friends in real life for years. So, getting to work with her was such a dream. We were all on the same page and on the same team and really having fun with it. And I think people can really tell that when they watch the show. It's fun when the real chemistry is actually there and it's not pretend."
Netflix
As for the show's marquee star, Fanning is as endearingly effusive as ever. "She's such an icon. She is one of a kind, and she continues to push her own limits and boundaries. She is constantly stretching herself into new characters and spaces. I don't know how she gets it all done — she seemingly is defying the laws of time and space with her career and also having a really wonderful personal life, too," she says. "It was really inspiring to watch her work and get to know her as a person. She has such an amazing sense of humor, is really funny and really warm, and is still really down for the adventure of being an actor, so many years into her career, which I'm very inspired by, and hope to emulate as I continue mine."
Fanning plays a pivotal role in the series, portraying a privileged and often acerbic social climber with aplomb, giving the actor the chance to flesh out a character unlike any she has played before. "The character as a whole felt new, because people haven't seen me play this particular kind of character before. She's a little bitchy, she says socially unacceptable things in a very light, breezy tone, as if they're totally normal. She is pregnant and would like everyone to know at all times," she smiles.
"She says these quips and remarks as if they're totally normal and I really enjoyed getting to play a character like her who worships Nicole's character, her mother-in-law, and is trying to be like her at all times, so much so to the point that she doesn't even know who she is anymore or what her real opinions are," Fanning notes. "She's constantly trying to fit into this mold and living in this kind of warped reality. And that's the thing that I also loved about the show itself, which you don't realize right away, but as we got into it, the heightened tone developed over time. Everyone looks like it's a real-life world and a real-life family, but everything has the volume turned up a little bit, and it's aware of itself in a particular way, which was really fun to play with as an actor, and I think also fun to watch as a viewer."
Fanning has gone from strength to strength over the years, from her early days as a child actor, to her first Emmy nomination last year for the Netflix limited series Ripley. 'To be nominated for something is very exciting, and I was just happy for everyone, happy for all of us, that it was recognized in that way. It's something you can always hold on to and look back on. And so it was very special and unexpected, and I was very thrilled to be there.'
Asked about one of the highlights of her career to date, Fanning looks back on working on Steven Spielberg's 2005 sci-fi thriller remake of War of the Worlds, which she filmed when she was 10 years old. 'Working on a movie directed by Steven Spielberg with Tom Cruise, it doesn't get more 'making a movie' than that. It's peak 'making a movie.' And I knew that at the time, and I look back on that experience and am so grateful for it because of getting to know the two of them,' she explains. 'The mark of a great director is where people want to work with them again and again and again, and would do anything for them. And so, I really saw that with Steven."
The Perfect Couple is now streaming on Netflix.
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