‘Big Little Lies’: 2 Cast Members Lived Together Years Before the Show
It’s no secret that the Big Little Lies cast is tight. Despite the ensemble cast boasting some of the biggest names in Hollywood, the actors got along famously. When Meryl Streep joined the show in season two, she immediately blended right in. And while there are no immediate plans for season three, all of the actors have shared that they’d be willing to return. However, they wouldn’t proceed with the show unless every cast member was able to reprise their role.
Many of the ‘Big Little Lies’ cast members knew each other prior to filming
But what accounts for the closeness of the Big Little Lies cast? While some of it is simply good synergy, most of the cast had connections to one another prior to shooting the show. For example, Zoë Kravitz and Shailene Woodley played best friends in the Divergent movies prior to being cast in the hit HBO drama. Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman dated Zoë Kravitz’s father, Lenny Kravitz, many years ago.
Of course, the connections don’t stop there. Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon worked together on a film called Wild. Meanwhile, Dern played Woodley’s mother in The Fault In Our Stars. But the bonds that the castmates developed often went beyond the screen. Dern and Woodley, for example, maintained a friendship long after they wrapped their first project together.
Shailene Woodley and Laura Dern lived together prior to ‘Big Little Lies’
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Woodley got candid about her the friendship she’d developed with Dern. In fact, back in 2014, when she was filming the Divergent movies, she was crashing on Dern’s couch. “I like live at her house right now,” Woodley shared about her future Big Little Lies castmate. “It’s kind of crazy how similar we are.”
In addition to sharing her home, Dern also shared her wisdom with Woodley. As Woodley was grappling with the intense fame that Divergent brought her, Dern was able to give advice based on her experiences in Hollywood. Dern had firsthand knowledge of what it felt like to be extremely well known. And she encouraged her fellow Big Little Lies co-star to enjoy the ride.
Dern gave Woodley advice about the fame she accrued from the ‘Divergent’ movies
“‘When I was your age, I was on the cover of every magazine for Jurassic Park, and I was it,'” Woodley recalled Dern saying. “‘Everybody knew who I was, and I was getting really amazing opportunities to be in incredible films. But I was so stressed out about it that I didn’t enjoy a second of it. And now looking back, that’s something to celebrate. Going off for this next month, it’s going to be hard work and it’s going to be exhausting. But enjoy it. Enjoy every single moment of it.'”
Considering Woodley was nervous about taking the role of Tris Prior because of the fame that came along with it, this was excellent advice from Dern. Hopefully, Woodley took it to heart and managed to enjoy the process. While Dern and Woodley may have portrayed adversaries in season one of Big Little Lies, it’s clear that off-screen they were anything but.
