Big Little Lies is a smash hit on HBO, and Nicole Kidman is definitely riding the wave. In a new interview on Ellen, airing today, she said she was initially underwhelmed with the response from the show.

“It was weird, when it first came out I remember calling and being like, ‘Awww, I was hoping it would be a little more successful,'” she shared. “I was like, maybe it’s not going to hit the place we really wanted it to hit, and then it just started to snowball. And the great thing was, because it was on HBO, everyone had to wait each week to see the next step.”

She continued: “Then I was suddenly being recognized in airports and on airplanes, and women were coming up to me on the street and talking about the character and what was going to happen next, and I was getting texts from Keith’s friends. And they were saying, ‘We’re staying in Sunday night, we’re ordering pizza, we’re putting the kids to bed, we can’t wait to watch!’ And then I thought, ‘Wow, this is working.'”