Graham Norton reveals the surprising reason why Nicole Kidman is always welcome on his chat show

Graham Norton has praised Australian actress Nicole Kidman for always ‘making an effort’ on his British chat show.

And while the Irish prankster, 61, has interviewed A-listers from all over the world, he revealed to Women’s Day that Australians are always high on his favorites list.

“They’re never too big for it,” Graham told the publication.

He also singled out Moulin Rouge star Nicole Kidman, 57, for a special mention, saying that despite her fame, she always brings her A-game when she appears on Graham’s show.

‘Even someone like Nicole [Kidman] who has been famous for so long will still do his best,” Graham said of the Australian star, who has appeared seven times on The Graham Norton Show.

He added that Nicole’s lack of “aloofness” and diva-like behavior in Hollywood had always impressed.

“She’s not going to just sit there and say, ‘I’m Nicole Kidman, what more do you want?’ Because she could. But she tries, she is still interested, she wants to hear the stories of the other guests.’

When Graham experienced a bad guest, he remained tight-lipped, but he did reveal how to deal with a “boring” celebrity.

Graham singled out Moulin Rouge star Nicole Kidman, 57, for a special mention and said that despite her fame, she always brings her A-game when she appears on his show. Nicole is pictured on the Graham Norton Show in 2018

“I’m in such a fortunate position because I’m never alone with them, I always have a couch,” he said.

“So even if you have a boring guest, what’s good is that if they’re boring, it’s not just me and the audience thinking, ‘Jesus, shut up,’ it’s other people on the bench too.

“So when they catch their breath, I’ll ask one of the more interesting people a little question.”

“She’s not going to just sit there and say, ‘I’m Nicole Kidman, what more do you want?’ Because she could. But she tries, she is still interested, she wants to hear the stories of the other guests.’ Nicole is pictured with British actors Julie Walters and Hugh Bonneville

Speak with News Corp in October, Graham revealed some of his most memorable disasters on the chat show and one celebrity who ‘wasn’t a great guest’ was American actress Darryl Hannah, who had a reputation for nervousness on air.

“So she did our show, and thank God she wasn’t a great guest,” he told the publication.

“But what I loved was that she got through it, then she was high as a kite. She really felt like she had done something great.

‘I was very happy for her that she got through it. It was still a really bad show.”

“She’s not going to just sit there and say, ‘I’m Nicole Kidman, what more do you want?’ Because she could. But she is trying, she is still interested, she wants to hear the stories of the other guests,” he told Woman’s Day

Graham also admitted that a drunken performance by actor Mickey Rourke was “hard work” for the chat show host.

“I happened to be standing there when he got out of the car and he had a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hands, which is already worrying,” he said.

‘But then we noticed that the bottle of Jack Daniels was half empty. It soon became very clear where Jack Daniels had gone. Those evenings are quite hard work, where you’re just trying to keep things together and get to the finish line.’

He also brought up a 2012 performance by pop icon Madonna, who looked less than impressed when she was presented with two dolls of her likeness made by two diehard fans in the audience.

“I saw them after the show and said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry she was a little rude about the dolls.’ But they couldn’t have been happier. Their diva had behaved exactly as they wanted!’