Nicole Kidman on working with Meryl Streep in Big Little Lies Season 2: I think she elevates the show

Nicole Kidman says having veteran actor Meryl Streep on _Big Little Lies_ helped the cast bring their A-game to the show.

The 69-year-old screen legend joined the cast for the second season of the HBO drama in which she plays Mary Louise Wright, the mother-in-law of Celeste (Kidman), who is out to find just how her son Perry died. [caption id=“attachment_4388037” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] File image of Nicole Kidman. Twitter[/caption] “Meryl is just amazing. To watch her do her craft - and it really is artistic craft - we all just went ‘Can you believe it?’ It raises the bar for everyone. I think she elevates the show. “We have meaty really great scenes. It was fun watching her enthusiasm for work still. She has a fantastic character. It’s grounded and it’s based in something very, very real,” Kidman, 51, told Britain’s HELLO! magazine The actor, who both stars in and executive produces the series alongside Reese Witherspoon, said she was not initially thinking of continuing the show after the first installment. “It was through sheer enthusiasm from the fans and my mother saying ‘It’s too short’ that made us realise we had to do more. “It’s amazing to have the fans and the audiences react in the way that they have is incredible. That’s why we had to scramble together to get this second series together. Because of the audience’s desire,” Kidman added. The original cast – Kidman, Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Zoe Kravitz and Shailene Woodley – are all coming back for the show’s sophomore run.