TEE FOR TWO
‘Expats’ star on working with Nicole Kidman: ‘an elevation of excellence’
FOR veteran actor Brian Tee, playing Nicole Kidman’s husband in the new Prime Video series “Expats” represented reaching a new phase of his career. “It’s almost a sense of feeling like – not that you’ve made it, but there are certain signposts along your actor’s journey that you want to go past. And for myself, this was one of them,” Tee 46 (“Chicago Med,” “Jurassic World”), told The Post.
“Nicole was great – the elevation of excellence was every sense of who she is. It’s a privilege to work opposite her, because then your work becomes elevated.”
Premiering Jan. 26, “Expats” was created by Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”), and is based on the novel, “The Expatriates” by Janice Y.K. Lee.
The series follows wealthy Margaret (Kidman, 56) and her husband Clarke (Tee), who are Americans living in Hong Kong in 2014, trying to raise their kids and get on with life after tragically losing a child.
The show also follows troubled recent Columbia grad Mercy (Jiyoung Yoo), and Margaret and Clarke’s friends, Hilary (Sarayu Blue) and David (Jack Huston), whose marriage is falling apart.
“Lulu is just such an incredible filmmaker. And that’s what this is, it’s cinematic, if you look at the episodes, we’re given the opportunity to really explore these characters on so many different levels,” Huston, 41 — who is part of the Huston acting family that includes his aunt Anjelica — told The Post.
“With all the tragedy, there’s alway a healthy dose of humor on set. You’ve got to laugh. Sometimes, if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.
“I remember one day – I had to gain a lot of weight for the role, and there’s a scene where I run around in the [nude]. The first time I did it, you drop trou, and it’s a room full of women, which I think is a wonderful role-reversal. It’s fantastic.
“But, I’m meant to be running around losing my mind. I opened a cupboard, and Lulu was inside the cupboard, and I was startled and naked. It was a wonderful moment.”
As the story unfolds, it reveals more about the tragedy that occurred in the past, the crack’s in everyone’s relationships, and a sense of mounting tension.
“We related a lot, as far as the character and I, in so many different ways,” said Tee, who has a child with his wife, actress Mirelly Taylor (“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”).
“I am the consummate dad-joker. And the tragedy of [Clarke losing a child], I couldn’t wish that to my worst enemy. To be able to try to survive through that, it was because of the connection to my family that I was able to root myself in what that may or may not have felt like. I processed that through Clarke.”
“In my case, it’s always fun to explore someone very outside of yourself,” said Huston, who has two children with his partner, model Shannan Click.
“I found David to be tragic and beautiful, in many ways, because in life, you know that guy who is going through the midlife crisis, who is trying to escape and has suffered their own trauma and it’s now coming to the surface. It was a very lonely time, we had just been through the pandemic and had all had a long moment of self-reflection.
“It was a sort of perfect job and character. It was quite a cathartic experience.”