Nicole Kidman stayed in character and refused to respond to her own name while filming 'Nine Perfect Strangers'

• Nicole Kidman said she stayed in character as Masha while filming Hulu's "Nine Perfect Strangers."
• Kidman joked that she was "bats--- crazy" in her preparation during a TCA panel on Friday.
• She said she ignored people that called her "Nicole" and only responded to "Masha" for five months.

Nicole Kidman said she stayed in character as Masha Dmitrichenko, a Russian wellness guru, for five months while filming Hulu's limited drama series "Nine Perfect Strangers."

During a Television Critics Association panel on Friday, the actress and executive producer, 54, reportedly called her method of preparing for the role "bats--- crazy," borrowing one of her character's lines.

"I'd only respond as Masha," Kidman said, per Deadline's Peter White.

She continued, "I wanted a very calm healing energy to emanate all the time so I remember going over to people and sort of putting my hand on their heart, holding their hand."

When people on the "Nine Perfect Strangers" set in Australia spoke to Kidman using her first name, she said she would "completely ignore them." Method acting, in her opinion, was a sure-fire way to make Masha feel more authentic.

"The only way I could actually relate to people was that way because I felt like otherwise I would be doing a performance and I didn't want to feel that way," Kidman said.

"Nine Perfect Strangers" is based on Australian author Liane Moriarty's 2018 novel of the same name. Like the book, it takes place at the fictional Tranquillum House, a mysterious boutique wellness retreat tucked away in the forest.

In David E. Kelley's limited series, nine individuals desperate to be transformed sign up for a 10-day program, cutting themselves off from the outside world and surrendering to Masha's care.

Little do they know, her methods for healing and growth at Tranquillum are not at all what they expected.

Ahead of the series' premiere, Kidman shared two photos of herself reading the script on set, providing an early glimpse of herself in costume as Masha.

"Let the countdown begin!" she wrote. "2 weeks until #NinePerfectStrangers."

The first three episodes of Hulu's "Nine Perfect Strangers" will premiere on August 18. One new episode will be released each week on the streaming platform thereafter.