Big Little Lies is a very big deal. It is an epic, insanely entertaining, tremendously acted hit. It features an ensemble of women, from longtime movie stars to burning younger talents who are each big deals on their own (oh, and coming up in season two, Meryl Streep). But it represents more than that. It is, frankly, a triumph for the ladies. Big Little Lies is great work done by great women, with respect and craft, the conscious sharing of opportunity, and, most significantly, very real friendships.
It’s quite the confluence: intense success, intense celebrity, intense friendship. But I wanted to talk to Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Shailene Woodley and Zoë Kravitz about something else—ambition. Their answers are wildly different and often surprising, revealing a desire for success,…