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“The Perfect Couple” Ishaan Khatter talks about his role alongside Nicole Kidman (exclusive)

Bollywood star Ishaan Khatter made his US debut in The perfect couple alongside what he considers to be a pretty perfect cast.

“One of the things I've really enjoyed about this show is working with some wonderful people,” Khatter, 28, tells PEOPLE. “They're all professionals and very generous and kind.”

The actor said he had an “awesome first meeting” with his co-star Nicole Kidman, who plays the groom's mother Greer Garrison Winbury in the Netflix crime thriller based on the book of the same name by Elin Hilderbrand.

“She was as normal as any other actor on set,” says Khatter. “We had some very interesting things to talk about outside of the plot of the show. She's a wonderful person. She has really mesmerizing eyes, which I loved to take advantage of. It was definitely a very exciting foray into the world of Hollywood, so I'm very grateful. It's going to be one of the joys of my young career.”

Khatter and the cast filmed for over four months in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, spending their free time whale watching, wine tasting, visiting nearby Provincetown – and trips to Trader Joe's.

“I can definitely say that I am now almost as familiar with the geography of Cape Cod as perhaps a local would be,” he says.

Ishaan Khatter as Shooter Dival in The Perfect Couple.

Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Netflix


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In the show, Khatter was cast as Shooter Dival, the groom's childhood friend and best man, even though the character in Hiderband's novel is white.

“With my character, she took the liberty of casting a person regardless of their ethnic background,” Khatter says of director Susanne Bier. “Susanne's vision was very clear, and I wanted her to be my driving force, not so much the book.”

Still, Khatter says he “skimmed” the book to familiarize himself with the story of a murder that occurs during a wedding weekend in Nantucket, Massachusetts. “I think it delivers on its promise,” he adds of the adaptation. “Essentially, it's the same beats, it's the same story arc, it's the same story and you'll see it come to life on the screen.”

Ishaan Khatter and Tabu in “A Suitable Boy”.

Taha Ahmad/Everett


Khatter only needed one audition to get the role.

“I was shooting a film in Mumbai and I sent in a self-video,” Khatter says of submitting an audition video. “I didn't have a friend or anyone else to help me shoot the audition, so it was the first audition in my life where I was doing it with my own voice. I think it worked, so I think I'll do it more often.”

The perfect couple shot to No. 1 on Netflix after its September 5 premiere, and Khatter already has another show in the works with the streamer: The Royalsin which he will play Prince Charming. Khatter dreams of working with the “greats of all time” such as Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantaino.

“The best outlet and form of self-expression I have in my life is acting and my work,” says Khatter. “I'm not in a hurry for people to get to know me through my words. I'd rather let them see my work, and hopefully they'll be curious to see more, and hopefully I can continue to surprise and delight them with my work as it comes.”

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The perfect couple is now streaming on Netflix.