INTERVIEW: Asher Keddie on Her Tangled New Role in Hulu’s ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’

Asher Keddie chats on wellness, tranquility, and what happens when things fall apart emotionally in her role as Heather in the new Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers streaming now.

Executive produced by David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, The Undoing) and based on the book “Nine Perfect Strangers” by Liane Moriarty, Keddie stars opposite a stellar cast in this mind-twisting psychological series including Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Shannon, Luke Evans, Bobby Cannavale, Regina Hall, Samara Weaving, Melvin Gregg, Grace Van Patten, Tiffany Boone, and Manny Jacinto. Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG, and Emmy winner Nicole Kidman also executive produces the series.

New York Times bestselling book author Liane Moriarty saw Kidman star on-screen when her other equally popular book, “Big Little Lies,” reached viral and massive success as an HBO series with two seasons so far. The anticipation was heavy and the expectations high as fans became eager for “Nine Perfect Strangers” to be adapted as well. Filmed on location in Australia during the pandemic, Nine Perfect Strangers, the series, takes place at a boutique health-and-wellness resort where nine stress-filled city dwellers have high hopes after enormous promises of healing and transformation. Masha (Kidman) is the resort director who is closely watching their every step at the 10-day retreat and sometimes it’s just a little too close for comfort as the guests grow suspicious if they are even safe.

Asher Keddie is best known for roles in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Offspring, Love My Way, and Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo. She plays Heather Marconi, one of the guests at the Tranquillum House wellness retreat with her family, husband Napoleon (Michael Shannon), and daughter Zoe (Grace Van Patten), with hopes of bringing enlightenment to them all. They are hiding some really dark and painful secrets that start to seep out like hot water from a strainer of bucatini noodles on pasta night. To top it off, all nine guests have their own string of emotional drama and trauma that has them trapped on the eerily quiet and suspicious oasis. Will they become transformed or does Masha have her own plan for her clients that may be even more dark and concerning? Digging one’s own grave and feeling what it’s like to lay inside it, really wasn’t on our bingo cards for self-care. Read on to find out more about Asher’s character and what it was like filming during the pandemic, as well as her admiration for her costars.

NIKKI: Were you a big fan like so many others of Big Little Lies and the author, Liane Moriarty, before seeing the script?
ASHER: Oh, yes, I’ve read all her books over the last ten years. I had read Nine Perfect Strangers when it was first released as soon as it came out because I’m a huge fan of her writing. Then, of course, I watched how her work translates to screen with Big Little Lies and thought, like everybody else, how incredibly entertaining that was and layered, deep and complex. When I heard that “Nine Perfect Strangers” was going to be brought to the screen, I thought, well, it’s perfect. You know, it’s great material. And it’s gosh, it’s huge, though. It’s just so big, such a large ensemble, so many intricate, complex journeys for all the characters. So I think it translated really beautifully. 

NIKKI: Can you tell us a little about a little bit about Heather, your character, and how she ends up at this Tranquillum House?
ASHER: So when we meet Heather at Tranquillum House, she’s really at a point in life where the grief of losing a child three years earlier has spiked in a way that she just can’t push down anymore; I don’t think. The disconnect she feels with her husband and her child, Zoe, whose birthday they’ve come to celebrate at Tranquillum House and try and reconnect with each other, I think the disconnect that she feels leaves her not thinking that she can keep going. So it’s pretty dark. She has a husband, Napoleon, that rallies the family constantly; it’s his way of dealing with the grief and the loss of his son to rally, “Come on, Heather, come on. You know, we can do it. We can do it.” She just can’t take it anymore. I think she feels really stifled by him. He can’t take her grief anymore. So they’ve got this family unit that actually probably really thrived before this tragic event, but that no longer knows how to. So there begins a very big journey really through the eight episodes. 

NIKKI: Definitely. You get some really incredible performances in each episode, just from the enlightenment to the grief. I mean, so powerful. How did you tap into Heather, and were there any challenges portraying this role? 
ASHER: There were definite challenges; challenges I wanted, though. The biggest challenge was having to move through the feelings of something, that to me, is unimaginable in the loss of a child. So it was really about trying most of the time, pushing my own emotion down to be able to deliver the journey that Heather needed to go on. Which wasn’t always really low; sometimes, it was enlightening. She was able to explore a lighter side of her that may have been there before she lost her son. I loved the rollercoaster of that. I found that challenge really rigorous but also great. 

NIKKI: There are so many very heavy issues, and it makes you think about what’s important in life and self-love, what we value, and what secrets we hold on to. 
ASHER: Doesn’t it…? Yes.

NIKKI: What did you learn about yourself or people in general or the mind? What did you take away from the whole series? 
ASHER: So many things, and you always take away things from a project. But with this project, because it explored so many different things that feel so timely at the moment. The importance of connectedness and connection with other people. All feel so important at the moment with what we’re all living through. I think that really came home, and that felt very timely to explore. To be reminded that our environments may be different. Our experiences may be different, but what we’re all reaching for is that connection with other human beings. At a time where it’s easy to feel isolated at the moment, I thought a lot about that. I think I learned quite a bit about that, too. Just about gratitude, you know?

NIKKI: Definitely. You worked with such an amazing cast from Nicole Kidman, your set family, Michael Shannon, and Grace Van Patten. What was it like working with each one?
ASHER: Ooh, I wouldn’t know where to start. I mean, all of them are just brilliant to what they do. Everyone in the ensemble had an incredible work ethic, which I really like, and was just as invested as each other. I mean, working with Michael was a dream. I mean, better than a dream. He’s an extraordinary actor and one of the best humans I’ve ever spent time with. So that was a very special thing to experience such a complex journey with him over those six months and with Grace. Grace is really special. I mean, her access to emotions as a very young person, I was constantly amazed by her and her ability to focus and deliver. Nicole is otherworldly. I mean, she’s just, like she would hate me saying that. (laughing) But she is; she’s so generous. She’s so committed and invested. She makes it feel exciting and never laborious. She’s so driven and committed to everything that it’s intoxicating; she’s wonderful to work with. They all were. It was a really great set. Everyone trusted and supported each other, and it was a wonderful experience. 

NIKKI: Lastly, have you ever been to a wellness retreat? In an ideal situation, I know we have COVID and all of that still existing, but would you visit one any time soon after filming something like this? 
ASHER: (laughing) Yeah, well, I don’t know. I mean, everything at the moment feels like jumping into the unknown. Doesn’t it? I’m not that attracted to wellness retreats, although I’m always engaged actively in wellness and wellness of mind. So I’m not sure; I don’t know how to answer that. I actually don’t know myself as to whether I would go to a wellness retreat. I certainly asked myself as we were filming this, how if I was in this sort of situation or really struggling with myself or in my life, how far would I go to reach some kind of place where I was happy with my identity and that happy within myself and my relationships? It’s an interesting question to ask yourself. 

NIKKI: Yes, definitely. Well, thank you so much for your time. It was lovely talking to you, and I wish you the best in your future endeavors.  
ASHER: Thanks very much.

Make sure to stream Nine Perfect Strangers now on Hulu and watch our full interview with Asher below.