The cast of “The Perfect Couple” almost mutinied after director Susanne Bier insisted on a flash mob-style dance routine for the opening credits.
The Netflix crime thriller, based on the book of the same name by Elin Hildebrand, follows the police investigation into the case of the wealthy Winbury family after a body is discovered during a family wedding, bringing many long-hidden secrets to light.
Despite the dark undertones, the show begins with a somewhat incongruous number in which the entire cast – including Nicole Kidman, Dakota Fanning and Liev Schriber – dressed in suits and evening gowns dance on the beach in unison to the song “Criminals” by Meghan Trainor.
“I think I felt like I wanted to do something where we tell the audience, ‘This is going to be fun,'” Bier said diversity before the premiere in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. “I think this time is a little bit dark and I wanted to do something that had a lot of life and a lot of fun. And I wanted to see all the characters having fun.”
However, the cast were not convinced and even started a WhatsApp group message to try to stop the dance. Meghann Fahy, who plays social media influencer Merritt in the show, said diversity at the premiere on Wednesday evening in Los Angeles: “Everyone in the group said they didn’t want to do it because we just didn’t understand it.”
“I actually have a really, really big problem learning the choreography, so I was very nervous about it,” she added.
Ishaan Khattar, who plays best man Scooter, said that although he is a trained dancer, “I don’t think any of us would see the point of doing this choreography with these characters. We thought, ‘Wait a minute, where does this fit into the bigger picture? That wasn’t part of the brief!'”
Not only was the cast skeptical, but producers were also concerned about whether there would be enough time to shoot the scene, which was choreographed by Charm La’Donna. Bier came up with the idea after everyone returned to the set following an eight-month break due to the WGA and SAG strikes last year.
“Usually you spend a whole day, probably two days, shooting something like this, and we did it in an hour and a half,” Bier revealed. “I had serious conversations (because everyone was saying), ‘Are you sure you want to spend that much time on this when we have so little time?’ and I thought – I could hear myself feeling like a two-year-old – ‘I want it! I want it!'”
Nicole Kidman, who plays Winbury’s matriarch Greer, was one of those who needed some convincing. “Because I didn’t feel like Greer was dancing! I thought Greer was watching,” she said, admitting she had joined the WhatsApp group. “But I danced as Greer. I think it’s brilliant and I’m so glad they got us all to do it. Because it’s fun.”
Only Schrieber, who plays Greer’s husband Tag Winbury, was there. “I wasn’t in that (WhatsApp) chain,” he said. “The whole cast mutinied against the idea, except me. I was already in my trailer practicing the dance steps. I just love dancing and was a little disappointed when it came out that I wasn’t in it anymore because I thought I had done really well.”
La’Donna, on the other hand, had nothing but praise for the actors. “They learn quickly,” she said. “We all had fun, it was a great day at the beach.”
Bier told La’Donna (who also happens to be Meghan Trainor’s choreographer) she wanted “classic” dance moves influenced by movies like “Saturday Night Fever.” The choreographer also incorporated some of the show’s themes into the routine, including a move where the cast members take turns pointing with their hands, symbolizing the crime mystery at the center of the series. “When you see them pointing around, you don’t know who is who and what is what,” La’Donna explained.
Despite the initial resistance, everyone was ready to show off their skills when the cameras rolled. “The pure truth is that at the end of the day we were very, very happy that we all kind of gave in,” Fahy admitted. “It was so much fun and I think it’s actually weirdly brilliant.”
