Nicole Kidman & Sandra Bullock on Motherhood, Friendship & Loving Life More with Age | PEOPLE

This one right here, she's walking match. She believes it exists. You do, but you do. So do you. Don't tell me what I feel. Okay. I won't. All right, we just go, okay. Nicole, thank you for being here today. More questions. Okay. In the hot seat. We can never learn enough. Yeah, that's what I always say. Okay, what's your first memory of us meeting? The weirdest thing was I saw on TikTok that meeting on the red carpet. Wait, was that the first time we met? That wasn't the first time, no. But just, I was looking at that going, oh my God. I mean, we always meet on the red carpets. Yeah, but the first time, I don't know. I just have, I won't say who you were with, but I remember, we have to hold our secrets tight. But I remember seeing you with them and going, oh my gosh, wow, such a great couple. And then I just remember just, you've always been so grounded, like always. That's your superpower, is that you're just so who you are and authentic and real, and I think that's why everyone loves you. Let's try that. Yeah. Stop, go on. I remember being a little intimidated when I first met you. You walk into a room with full ownership and confidence, but you do. I'm tall, it's just because I'm tall. No, but how many tall people shrink themselves? You don't, you don't shrink yourself, but you walk in with an energy of going, I'm gonna step in 100% with Nicole. Everyone who's not taking ownership of themselves and their power questions themselves immediately. Really? And I remember you walking in, I went, oh. And then all of a sudden, I started looking at all my insecurities like, why can't I walk into a room with that kind of bucket? It's all bravado. No, but it's not, it's not, it's not bravado. It's, yeah, you could have insecurity. You have, we all have. Fake it till you make it. Yeah, well, it is fake it till you make it, but you have an inner light that is really blinding in an incredibly beautiful way. And I remember when I first met you, it was like, it took me a minute to be able to relate to you as a human being. And I was like, okay, she's normal. She's a normal human being. Totally normal. Yeah, yeah. Incredibly flawed. Yeah. Deeply insecure. Thank God. I know. Thank God, because that's what makes you beautiful. I mean, you were perfect. Boring. Yeah. Definitely not perfect. Insert needles through eyes of corpse. Through the eye? In the eye. What's one of the biggest ways we've changed since making the first film? Wow. Yeah. That's heavy. And fantastic. How do you think I've changed? I think, but as I say, you're so authentic. Have you changed? No, you've just had experiences, layer upon layer, that have given you compassion and understanding, which is why we all said, we were all sitting in a group, all of us, who do you go to for advice? And we all wanted to hear. Because you're so willing to share it, pass it on, go, here, I've got this, I know this, I've been through this, and it's just, I mean, it's a wealth of experience, love, and wisdom. Yeah. It's mine as well. Layer upon layer, baby. And how do you, do you wanna ask me how I think you've changed? Nope. Okay. I'll write this. How are we different? We are very different, but so, my sister and I are incredibly different, yet weirdly same in so many moral and instinctual ways, and I think you and I are similar in that way, in that people look at us and go, there's nothing similar about the two of them, yet what we worry about, what we aim for, what we are excited by, I mean, that might be different things, you know, but the fundamentals, I think, were very similar. And it's not just about being a mom, either. It's about, but I think it's also like you, share the information. You've had a massive amount of events in your life, and it's about, what you said, share the information. Share it with your fellow ladies. Share it, because who else are we gonna go to? And you share it now. Back when I first met you, you hadn't had tremendous life, you had extraordinary life experiences, but no one had passed, no, you know, things had passed. I know I hadn't passed. Yeah, and I could feel that. I could feel that. And you were like, I shouldn't do X, Y, and Z, and I'm out there like, you know. It's like we went to the salsa club. You know, I dragged her to the east side, and she sat there quietly at the table, and. Too shy. I might have been bent over a table, but that's, that's the old me. But also, the other thing is, we've both grown up, and we've been famous now for a long time. And so, that carries its own set of things, where you can isolate and go, but we've got kids, we've got friends, we're trying to stay. You can't isolate when you have kids. In the world. Right? That's the kicker. You know, I was like, oh, I have these people that need to leave the house. Yeah, and it is. You can get like, scared, and instead, it's like, nah, we're out. We have to be out in the world. You're so good at that. You are so good at that. But we share the same, so we're able to go. But you're braver than I am with that. I'm happy to go to every basketball game, and all these things, but you leave the planet, almost, in taking those girls on adventures. And I just love going and being in the world, but I push into it, because I think as you get older as well, you can go, oh, whew, I'm tired. But it's still, I mean, staying adventurous and curious, and that was part of the reason of doing the film together, because we went, let's go to the UK for the summer. It's funny, what we wanted to say and what we'd experienced, the book was about. Yeah. So, the timing was right, because art imitated life. I've waited such a long time for this. She has. Why was now the right time for a Practical Magic sequel? That's an excellent question, Nicole. Thank you. I didn't write it, but I'm very glad to ask it. Yeah, you said it beautifully. Thank you. That's a great question, because I think, personally for us, it was, I'm sure, different reasons. For me, the timing was great, because what the film could say, and deserved to say, could finally be said. And it sort of honored generations of ancestry and future generations in a way that I don't think we've talked about much on film, which is, we forget that our mothers and grandmothers were young women with dreams and hopes and desires as well, and we never looked at them as human beings like that. You know, they were just mom and grandma. So, in this, we get to look behind the curtain and go, I didn't know. I didn't know you felt that way. I didn't know you were longing. You know, so I think, to me, that was something that we really should talk about and put value on. I remember being on the phone and we were like, okay, what's the story? Why should we make it? And we just started riffing, basically. And a lot of it was based in carrying on that kind of, how every family carries something, and what do they carry? And therefore, how do you deal with it, and how do you sort of remove the patterns that have been existing for so long from generation to generation? And as sisters, we were both like, oh yeah, you now carry the family. As people pass and move on, we're left carrying the family. And I think that was something that I so related to. And my own sister and I, we have this kind of vision and this idea of us together, living in this house with all of our children coming to us for advice and guidance, and we're the sage witches. You're carrying the family forward. Yeah. And I think sage witches, sage women, aunts, mothers, grandmothers, have never gotten the full credit that they've deserved. And I look up a lot in Polish comics. Yeah. A lot. It's true. I didn't know. Now I understand. I didn't know. I thought that a lot while we were filming. I didn't know. It made me a little sad that I was like, maybe next meeting I can do some apologizing and see the mother and the grandmother's girls. See what they're like. So that's why it's the right time. Yeah, right time. It is the right time. It's true. We're witches in the curses room. Let me just give you my theory on the word witch. Yeah. I don't like the connotation that comes with the word witch. I don't like it and I know we have to, I don't like how, my daughter said something when she goes, why are women witches? And people say it like that, but men are warlocks. And I went, that's a really great question. A covens and women coming together was a necessity because they shared the information. Yeah. They didn't have the safety. They had to be quiet. They weren't allowed to read. They weren't allowed to express their, covens and women together, healers, you know, knowers, intuitives. So I wish we could either take the word back and clean it up. Well, we're trying to do that now. Yeah. I hope. But this one right here, she's the first one to, she's walking magic. She believes it exists. You do. But you do. So do you. Don't tell me what I do. Okay. I won't. This is about you, I know. But this, it's this one. This one for sure. If you could only keep one memory from working together, which moment would you choose and why? Our quiet conversations. Yes. Yeah. This time around, we got to share things that we got to share. What's the best compliment we've received from one another, whether we realized it or not? I said, you have a great ass. She got a great ass in a nice rack. And I say, she has the best skin. You've got to see it up close because it is the most beautiful skin and it's the softest skin. So soft. This is gonna, this is gonna get us in trouble. Who makes the other laugh the quickest and what's the secret weapon? You make me laugh. What's the secret weapon? What's the secret weapon for making me laugh? I have no shame. Uh-huh. I have no shame. Yeah. And you're also just like so quick, so sharp. I mean, everyone knows it, but you're, it's like razor sharp. Defense mechanism. Works. It's great. And she can literally make us belly laugh if we need it. So, on set, right? Who's more likely to convince the other to do something slightly, only slightly ridiculous? I would hope it's me. Yeah, it's you. I would hope. It's you. I'm like, come on. I know. Let's play. The words that come out of your mouth all the time. Come on, Sandy. Come on, baby. Sandy, let's. I pick up the phone. Sandy. And then I tickle you. I know, she's like, she's lots of tickles. I can pick her up. She's freakishly strong. I can pick her. She is freakishly strong. No, you're not heavy. I am dense. I am incredibly dense. No, you're not. I'm solid matter. I can pick you up. She's incredibly strong. I'm not gonna do it now. Don't. But I can pick her up. Because I will bust out his top. But she is freakishly strong. We'll be doing that on a late night show. On the premiere. I will pick you up. On the premiere live show. I will pick you up. Yeah. I'm gonna show everybody. Yeah. How freakishly strong you are. I'll be carrying you in. How has your outlook on life evolved from when you were younger? I'm way more open. Like, I was incredibly shy. And so, now I'm like, ah. Yeah. I don't care. No, I'm just way more free. You? I don't know. I really don't know. Because no matter where I go, there I am. So, I don't know. In life, I always try to guard. I was very guarded. Very, very guarded. But because of life, I have just, I've realized that I can't help but love. You know what I mean? Like, I just, people. Not like, fall in love. But like, I have so much in my body. I'm like, oh, so that's just who I am. Whether I like it or not. You know, I'd like to be angry. Like, I forget why people piss me off. And I hate it. Like, I meet someone and I go, I know I'm supposed to hate you right now. And I cannot, unless it's something obvious, like you killed a family member. But, I forget why people hurt me. You know what I mean? And I go, is that just who I am? And I think that's just the name of who I am. It just leaves my body. So, that's how I've evolved. And I get angry at it because I want to be spiteful. It just. Doesn't work. No, it's not. No, but I love life. Yeah, you do. Yeah, but I love life. And I think that has evolved. Because I think when you're younger, you take it for granted. Oh, for sure. And now I'm like, yeah. Now I'm like, oh my gosh. You're so blind with that. Every precious moment. I probably try to do way too much because of that. No, you do, but you do it. I try. Sleep when you're dead. Oh, here's an easy one. What's your own go-to margarita recipe? Oh my gosh, I don't do it, but a girlfriend of mine makes a very potent. Which one? Fresh lime. Which girlfriend? Jen. I knew it! I was like, which girlfriend? I don't know what she does. She has a heavy pour. And every time I've had. Jen, you got to invite me over. It is fierce. And she, fresh limes. And she has a way to do it. And she just, it's frothy. It's so good. And it will knock you on. And it has. Like any time I've suffered, it's been in her hands. But it's so good. It's so good. Wow. Yeah. I don't do it often. Okay, Jen, you got to share that one. What's an afternoon at the Bullock Kidman house like? Oh, we're living together now. So in our house. Cause you have the east wing. It's very, very ordered. Very ordered. Very east wing, west wing. Yeah. Upstairs, downstairs. But we have great music. Great smells. Right? I love the place to smell. Chaos. And when it's quiet, there's a problem. Yeah. There's chaos, there's peace, you know. You know what the chaos is. Cause we have kids. Kids and animals. Yes. And work and life. It's pretty much the same. Single parent. Stay at home mom. Working parent. Depends on the time of day. And we get on those Zunes and we go, now we've got to have the minute. Thank God for the Zunes. Okay. What has it been like to share notes as moms as our children have grown older? Do you have a version of keep calm and carry on? We have no choice. We have to keep calm and carry on. We don't have the luxury of losing our ----. No. So there's no version of it. It is just keep calm and carry on. Yeah. Fake it till you think it. Yep. Get up. Get out of bed. Get on with it. There's something beautiful always at the end of every one of our events. Always. So I saw this thing. It was really good. It was, of course, it was Oprah. Oprah. She's talking about having had this betrayal and she was having a really emotional moment in the bathroom. She was crying and she called Maya Angelou and I was like, I wish I could dial Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou. And she was sobbing going, this person did this, this. And Maya goes, stop it. Stop it. Say thank you. And she was like, what do you mean? She says, say thank you. Because an incredible opportunity will come your way because of this. Say thank you. And it is a very, I think a very Buddhist sort of, you know, change is coming. It's exciting. So I think taking that in when the poop really hits the fan, you go, it hurts a lot now, but say thank you because something amazing is gonna come. Hopefully. Yeah. It already has. Every day is incredible. Kids are happy and healthy. Nothing is better. What's one thing you admire about the woman sitting next to you that she might not hear enough? Oh, this is good. I was making a teary for you. For you too. I don't know if you hear it or not. That I love you. No, stop. And it's true. Okay, I'm gonna go to you first. I don't think Nicole hears that she is everything she wants to be capable of. She's not only capable of it, but she's destined to exceed it. That's your place here on this planet. Is that you are put here. That's why I said the first time I met you, you go, oh my God, she's here for a big reason. And I don't think you are told enough that you are here for a very big reason. And you can feel it. And you heal people. That's what you do. No, you probably don't hear it enough. You've got the biggest, biggest heart. So there you go. There you go. And here we are. Here we are.