Nicole Kidman has said her husband Keith Urban was “devastated” after seeing the bruising she suffered playing a domestic abuse victim on Big Little Lies.

The Oscar-winning actress stars in the HBO series as a retired lawyer who is subjected to violent sexual behaviour by her partner, played by Alexander Skarsgard.

Nicole, who has been been married to country music star Keith for more than 10 years, said she had to take painkillers after filming the intense scenes on the show.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban (Ian West/PA)

She told Vogue magazine: “I would go home at night sometimes and be in a lot of pain, and I had to take things like Advil because I was being thrown around physically.

“I was really bruised. At one point Keith was like, ‘I’m going to take a photo of your back because it’s covered in deep, massive bruises’.

“He was devastated seeing it, but then he would say, ‘But I have an artist wife!’. He knows that’s how I work. I don’t even notice it half the time.”

Nicole, 49, is also an executive producer on Big Little Lies, a seven-part mini series based on Liane Moriarty’s novel.

The drama, which airs on Sky Atlantic in the UK, tells the story of three mothers, played by Nicole, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley, whose apparently perfect lives unravel to the point of murder.

Australian stars Nicole and Keith married in 2006 and have two daughters together, Faith Margaret and Sunday Rose.