Nicole Kidman checked with Naomi Watts before accepting her latest role as Liev Schreiber’s film wife.

While promoting the Netflix miniseries The perfect coupleKidman, 57, and Schreiber, 56, told Entertainment tonight about their reactions to being cast together as Mr. and Mrs. Winbury.

Kidman joked that she had to “beg” Schreiber to “marry” her. Robert Donovan The actor, meanwhile, said: “I heard you asked Naomi first if it was OK.” Kidman confirmed this, to which Schreiber replied: “Isn’t that incredible? They are that close.”

Watts, 55, meanwhile confirmed that the Big little lies Star contacted her via The perfect couple Role.

“We always check in, we’re best friends,” Watts said Weekly entertainment during the Toronto International Film Festival and promoted The friend. “That was very nice of her.”

Watts and Schreiber were together from 2005 to 2016. Since then, they have maintained a friendly relationship and often met to celebrate their two children, Sasha and Kai.

Kidman and Watts have been friends for more than 30 years. When she presented Kidman with the AFI Life Achievement Award in April, Watts said the two met in the 1980s while auditioning for a swimsuit commercial.

While they waited to find out who got the part, they chatted. “We talked about everything: what movies we liked, what friends we had in common, our parents, schools, parties, boyfriends, teenage stuff,” Watts recalled.

When they were told they could leave because they hadn’t gotten the role, Kidman offered to pay for a taxi ride home for Watts, who had missed the bus. She called Kidman “the most generous person.”

“She opened her homes to me. She made me feel like part of her family. She was like the sister I never had,” Watts added.

The friends appeared together in the film Flirt in 1991 and have been close friends ever since. Watts wished “Queen” Kidman a happy birthday on June 20. Meanwhile, Kidman attended Watts’ “funny, beautiful” and “deeply unforgettable” wedding to Billy Crudup in June.

The official synopsis for The perfect couple states: “Amelia Sacks is about to marry into one of the richest families on Nantucket. Her disapproving future mother-in-law, famous novelist Greer Garrison Winbury (Kidman), has spared no expense in planning what promises to be the most important wedding of the season – until a body turns up on the beach.

“As secrets come to light, the stage is set for a real investigation that feels like it’s plucked from the pages of one of Greer’s novels,” the synopsis continues. “Suddenly everyone is a suspect.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

All six episodes of The perfect couple can be streamed on Netflix.