The Perfect Couple Cast’s Quotes About Their Viral Dance to Criminal

The Perfect Couple is full of murder, mystery and intrigue — but all anyone can talk about is that viral cast dance in the title sequence.

Based on Elin Hilderbrand‘s novel of the same name, The Perfect Couple tells the story of a wedding weekend that gets uprooted when a body is found on the beach. The series premiere, which debuted in September, revealed that the bride’s (Eve Hewson) maid of honor, Merritt (Meghann Fahy), was the person who was killed, but it wasn’t until the finale that fans found out who was actually responsible.

The limited series set a scene that was most dangerous, so it came as a surprise to Us when the title sequence showed the cast — including Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning, Ishaan Khatter, Billy Howle and Jack Reynor — busting a move to Meghan Trainor‘s song “Criminal.”

The song choice couldn’t have been more perfect, but it took some time for director Susanne Bier to get the cast onboard.

“I think I felt that I want to do something where we are telling the audience, ‘This is going to be fun,’” Bier told Variety in September. “I feel this time [period] is a little bit gloomy and I felt I wanted to do something which had a lot of life and a lot of fun. And I wanted to see all the characters having fun.”

In response, several cast members started a WhatsApp group text to try to shut the idea down. They ultimately gave the dance sequence, which was choreographed by Charm La’Donna, a chance and the result was a viral moment.

“They’re fast learners. We all had fun, it was a fun day on the beach,” La’Donna shared with Variety that same month about how she was inspired by movies such as Saturday Night Fever. “When you see them pointing around you don’t know who is who and what’s what.”

Keep scrolling for everything the cast said about their apprehension — or excitement — for the dance sequence:

Putting in the Work

According to Bier, there wasn’t a lot of time for the cast to film the scene. She previously asked everyone to practice the steps while filming was halted amid the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in late 2023.

“Normally you would spend a full day, probably two days shooting something like that, and we did it in one and a half hours,” the director revealed. “I had serious conversations [because everyone] went, ‘Are you sure you want to spend time doing this when we are so short of time?’ I could hear myself being like a 2-year-old, ‘I want it! I want it!’”

Trying to Get Out of It

Fahy told Variety in September that she was initially concerned, revealing the cast was on a WhatsApp chain to try and put a stop to the madness. “Everyone was on that group saying they didn’t want to do this because we just didn’t understand,” Fahy said. “I actually have a really, really huge issue with learning choreography so I was very nervous about it.”

Everyone involved with The Perfect Couple came around to the idea once they saw the final product.

“The God’s honest truth is that at the end of the day, we were very, very joyful about it,” Fahy added. “We all sort of ended up giving in to it. It was so fun and I actually weirdly think it’s amazing.”

Questioning How the Sequence Fit Into the Show

After bringing the Winbury matriarch to life, Kidman wasn’t sure that dancing as Greer lined up with what she learned about her character.

“Because I didn’t feel like Greer would dance! I felt like Greer would watch,” she joked to Variety. “But I danced as Greer. I think it’s great and I’m so glad they got us all to do it. ‘Cause there’s some joy in it.”

Showing Her Enthusiasm

Hewson, who played Amelia, was a fan of filming something more lighthearted. “I personally was absolutely thrilled,” she said in a clip shared by Netflix. “I was like, ‘This is going to be the best thing I’ve ever done.’”

Understanding the Vision Behind the Idea

Fanning was another cast member who saw what Bier was hoping to achieve.

“Susanne’s intention with having this be the opening credits of the show is that it kind of puts the viewer into this surreal world that we have created in the show,” she said in the Netflix video. “I think it primes the audience that you are going to see something different than you might expect.”

The Biggest Fan

“I wasn’t in that [WhatsApp] chain,” Schreiber, who played Tag, revealed to Variety. “The entire cast had a mutiny about this idea except for me, I was already in my trailer practicing the dance moves. I just like dancing, and I was kinda disappointed when it came out that I’m not in it more because I thought I did it really well.”

Setting the Scene

During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Khatter noted how intrigued he was by how the title sequence compared to the subject matter in the show.

“That dance — that happened to be the last thing that we shot,” he shared with Us. “It’s a very clever choice to almost subvert the tone of the show. It throws off the audience early on, and it sets you off for the crazy ride that this is.”