Secret in Their Eyes is the American remake of the Oscar-winning 2009 Argentine film. Oscar winners themselves, the two actresses both had break-out roles in 1989: Kidman in Dead Calm and Roberts in Steel Magnolias. Over the decades, they met at various social functions, but only really connected on the set of Secret in Their Eyes, discovering that they share a positive approach to family and career.

"I am a genuinely and deeply happy person," says Roberts. "And as life goes on, you realize what great fortune that is - to feel like you just have the natural chemistry of joy."

Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman star alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor

But she's hesitant when asked about directing a movie one day. "I would just never want to be that person," she says, preferring her role as a wife and mother. "I get everybody out the door to school on time, clean, fed, happy. That's directing a whole production right there!"

In Kidman, Roberts says she saw a person who shares a similar perspective on life. "I have such a happy, excited feeling about my children," she says, "and I love to share stories, which can no doubt be nauseating at times, right? But Nicole is the same. We could just chatter away endlessly."

And like Roberts, Kidman says that life is about the journey. "I suppose I'm kind of spontaneous, nonstrategic, which is why I've had such a winding career. Even at my height, I wasn't looking to maintain that. I was always looking for what I feel now - where do I want to go?" For Kidman this means avoiding expectations about a film or a role. "The whole point of being an actor is to connect," she says. "In the theatre, when you walk into the rehearsal room on the first day, you've got to do it. I think that's probably my main thing: just do the work. Whether it's a scene or just getting a character moving around. You're going to fall flat on your face, just get back up again. By keeping it that simple, it allows me to play, because I do see it as playtime. I mean, we're all lucky. We get paid to do it, but ultimately we're the kids in school that never had to grow up."

Watch the trailer for Secret In Their Eyes here: