‘LIES’ THAT BIND
Revenge and murder haunt season finale
BIG LITTLE LIES Sunday, 9 p.m., HBO
SUNDAY night’s finale of “Big Little Lies” is one of most anxiously anticipated of the year. Who has Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley) been chasing on the beach? Who has been bullying Amabella Klein (Ivy George) in school? Who has been ironing Madeline’s (Reese Witherspoon) hair so that it always looks perfect? Most importantly, who has committed the murder so deliciously hinted at in the first episode? And who dies?
The setting is the school fund-raiser. The women come dressed as one of Audrey Hepburn’s screen roles while the men choose one of Elvis Presley’s incarnations. Among the guests is mellow dad Nathan Carlson (James Tupper, right), who reveals previously unheard musical talent. Tupper, 51, spoke to The Post from sunny California, where everyone was having a good day.
As everyone gets ready to go to the fundraiser, what’s the prevailing mood?
Well, I think murder is in the air. We shot that scene, it felt like 20 days in a row. We started at dark and went till sun-up. At one point I believed I was dead, and kept doing the scene over and over. Were certain people barred from the set so they would not see key scenes? The novel’s available, so we did not have that kind of security. We understood we’re not supposed to say anything. Everyone I know has told me who they think the killer is. I tell them they’re right. No one has actually guessed the real killer. What is your costume? Elvis in “Jailhouse Rock.” What song do you sing? “How’s the World Treating You?” Why do Nathan and Ed (Adam Scott) hate each other? I just take issue with the way he’s raised my daughter. What was your favorite relationship among the characters? I was moved by Jane’s relationship with Ziggy (Iain Armitage). The good spirit and love she had was more important than people saying his possible bullying of the girl was genetically based.
What can you tell us about Nicole Kidman that we don’t know?
When you meet her, it’s wild, but she has an aura. You feel like you’re underwater looking up at the light. She’s so centered and she takes you in. She goes through the world like that and it’s kind of profound. It’s very vulnerable and open. Of the all the houses on the show, which one would you like to live in? I think [Alexander] Skarsgård’s got it good. I like that view.