Keith Urban's 'fear' over Nicole Kidman's brutal Big Little Lies role

Keith Urban has opened up about how ‘heavy’ it was to watch wife Nicole Kidman, 53, in her role as an abused housewife on the hugely successful HBO TV show, Big Little Lies.

Appearing on 60 Minutes on Sunday night, the country music superstar revealed his initial reaction to seeing Nicole’s character Celeste in violent scenes with her on-screen husband Perry, played by Alexander Skarsgård, was fear.

“It’s hard to tell your soul that she’s an actor and she’s acting,” the 52-year-old said.

“My soul is just alerted to this fear. [I have to tell myself] ‘It’s okay, mate, it’s okay. She’s just acting. Just calm down, she’s just acting’,” he added.

Keith, who has been married to fellow Aussie Nicole since 2006, went on to say that the Oscar-winner’s talents made it even harder to remember that she was simply portraying a character.

“It was very heavy to watch because she’s so bloody good [at acting],” he explained.

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Nicole and Alexander’s brutal yet complex relationship on Big Little Lies divided viewers early on in the series, particularly due to their x-rated and confronting sex scenes.

Off-screen, the pair appear to have a close bond, with the Moulin Rogue star and the handsome Swede raising eyebrows by getting touchy-feely on several occasions over the past few years.

Nicole shocked everyone at the 2017 Emmy Awards when she planted a kiss on Alexander, 44, as he walked up to accept his award.

She attempted to explain the public pash during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show later that year, saying, “I did kiss him, but you have to understand, I did everything with Alex.”

“I’ve got an amazing, supportive, gorgeous husband, who I love more than anything in the world,” she added.

Then in July last year, Nicole turned heads at the Giorgio Armani fashion show while sitting front-row between her hubby Keith and Alexander with a hand on either mans’ thighs.

Nicole and Keith, however, have a rock-solid 14-year marriage and share two children together, 12-year-old Sunday Rose and nine-year-old Faith Margaret.

In the song ‘Gemini’ from Keith’s 2019 album, Graffiti U, he offers an inside look into his steamy private life with Nicole, singing, “She’s a maniac in the bed, but a brainiac in her head.”

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