'It was really terrifying': The fear Laura Dern conquered in Byron Bay - and why she's a 'big fan' of Aussies

EXCLUSIVE: Sitting in a London hotel days after Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's shock split after almost 20 years of marriage, Laura Dern can't help but gush about her close friend.The actress, who worked alongside Kidman on TV drama Big Little Lies labelled her Australian co-star "the greatest human ever"."She's one of my closest friends, as is Naomi Watts, and the fact that I got both these Aussies – and Hugh Jackman! – three of my favourite people and best friends in life, I'm a big fan," Dern tells nine.com.au of having Australian friends.Dern's starred alongside Naomi Watts multiple times – in movies We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004), Inland Empire (2006) and the 2017 reboot of TV drama Twin Peaks.She also starred opposite Hugh Jackman in 2022's The Son, not to mention working opposite Liam Hemsworth in rom-com Lonely Planet in 2024."And you have that New Zealander Sam Neill, who also spends so much time in Australia," she adds of her one-time Jurassic Park co-star."I just love it, I love it when I'm there."READ MORE: Laura Dern 'was concerned' about working with Will ArnettREAD MORE: Most controversial Super Bowl half-time show momentsREAD MORE: 'Gonna be hard': Channing Tatum in hospital for surgeryAs star of the new movie Is This Thing On? – based loosely on the life of British comedian John Bishop turning to stand up as his marriage fell apart, starring Will Arnett and directed by Bradley Cooper – Dern raved about Australians and their sense of humour.And the 58-year-old would know, not just having worked alongside a number of Aussies and Kiwis in her long and illustrious career, but spending plenty of time Down Under too."Being from Santa Monica, California, when I'm in Sydney, I feel like I'm home," Dern says.For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here."It feels so close to it, it has such a sense of place to me."The father of my children, Ben Harper, has toured so much there, so I spent so much time even when our kids were little there."The surf is amazing. I may have learned to surf in Byron [Bay], and Jaws is my favourite and the scariest movie of all time, so I'm just letting you know it was really terrifying to learn to surf there, but amazing."Oh my god, the beaches!"Dern promises she will return to our shores for more surfing soon."I'll come with Nic," she says."I'll make her take me."Is This Thing On? is in cinemas around Australia now.FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.