The scenes that left Nicole Kidman bruised, battered and in tears hours later.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

If you’ve read Big Little Lies, or are unperturbed by spoilers, proceed. If not, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

When Nicole Kidman was filming Big Little Lies, she would often find herself in tears hours after production had finished.

Her role as the elusively beautiful Celeste was catching up to her, as she mentally and emotionally tried to process the scenes she had thrown her mind, body and spirit into.

Her character, a stay-at-home mother-of-two, is at the mercy of her banker husband, as he physically and emotionally abuses her throughout their relationship. It’s the quintessential domestically violent marriage, hidden from the world and their closest friends.

In an interview with news.com.au, Kidman said she would go home “physically bruised” from her time on set.

“I was pretty beaten up physically. It was tough. I’d go home and be bruised all over, and my neck and parts of my body were really damaged because I had thrown myself into it to such a degree.”

Her husband, played by Alexander Skarsgard, would ensure the scenes were as realistic as possible.

“It wasn’t Alex’s fault, but we couldn’t get stunt people to do those things and it had to be very authentic,” she told news.com.au.

“We both were really in those scenes. It’s a very volatile relationship; they inflict pain on each other and there is an enormous amount of danger.

Mia Freedman interviews Liane Moriarty about all things writing and watching Big Little Lies come to life. Post continues after audio.

“At the end of a day’s shooting I’d go home and sit in the bath and cry.”

For the author of Big Little Lies, Australian Liane Moriarty, watching the book come to life was unexpectedly emotional. It was Kidman who initially approached the author to consider putting pictures to her words.

“When I saw [Nicole Kidman] appear dressed exactly as I described her in the book, I unexpectedly felt a little teary,” Moriarty told Fairfax this week. “I didn’t expect to feel that way but I did because she looked exactly as I described her and so beautiful. It was lovely.”

Those who have read the book will know the school trivia night is the scene the book comes to climax. And it was this scene that Moriarty loved watching come to life.

“When I was writing the book I kept thinking, ‘I can’t wait until I to get to the trivia night’ because I was starting to think about what would happen, and it was a little bit similar when I got there for the whole production.”

Big Little Lies premieres on HBO in the US on Sunday the 19th of February.