Nicole Kidman has admitted she started laughing uncontrollably when she saw her late father in a coffin.
Antony died from a fall while in Singapore visiting Nicole’s sister, Antonia, back in September 2014.
In a new interview, Nicole, 56, said she was so devastated and grief-stricken by her father’s death, she couldn’t control her emotions when she went to see him.
The actress said the heart-wrenching experience influenced how she played Margaret in her new drama Expats.
Margaret and her husband Clarke (played by Brian Tee) go to view body that matches the description of their son in her new drama Expats, with Nicole suggesting her character having the same reaction she had to her father’s death.
Nicole Kidman has admitted she started laughing uncontrollably when she saw her late father in a coffin
Antony died from a fall while in Singapore visiting Nicole’s sister, Antonia, back in September 2014
‘I literally started laughing because I was so grief-stricken and so devastated. My body and my psyche just couldn’t handle it’, Nicole told Elle in April’s 2024 impact issue.
‘Even at other times in my life, I’ve laughed at inappropriate times because I have this weird short-circuiting. It’s like you need this moment to keep you alive, in a way, otherwise you’ll die. It’s too much pain.’
‘I’m fortunate that I’ve got a job where I get to explore emotional landscapes that are heavy, strange, extraordinary, bizarre, beautiful, deep.
‘I don’t shy away from them, partly because I’m committed to examining life, what it means to be alive and feel.’
A month after Nicole’s father’s death, the actress spoke of her shock of his sudden passing.
‘Everybody loses their parents and it’s awful. I’m sorry to bring everything down, but I’m at the same time trying to navigate through something right now,’ she said at the time.
‘And I’m amazed when people reach out, because it’s an awkward thing at times, but to have people go, “I’m so sorry for your loss…” the power of that…
‘When you realise that someone has gone through a similar thing or is going through a similar thing, it really connects you.’
The actress said the heart-wrenching experience influenced how she played Margaret in her new drama Expats (pictured with her onscreen husband Brian Tee)
Nicole spoke of how her dad’s death shaped her work in the Expats in a new interview
Expats is based on the 2016 book The Expatiates by Janice Y.K. Lee, through her production company Blossom Films.
The show was produced in Hong Kong, a decision that has sparked some backlash given the country’s rapidly declining political situation.
Nicole also sparked criticism for gaining a government exception to side-step quarantine rules to film the series.
In August 2021, Nicole flew from Sydney to Hong Kong via private jet ahead of filming.
She later stirred controversy two days later after photos surfaced of her shopping at a designer boutique in the city’s Central district, during the Covid pandemic.