Nicole Kidman has always been willing to do whatever it takes to prepare herself for an upcoming role.
During an interview for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” issue, Kidman and Zendaya discuss the physical and emotional toll certain roles can take and steps they take to shed the weight of character.
“It’s really taxing going through all of those emotions. Your [body] doesn’t … know that it’s fake,” the “Euphoria” actress, 28, explained to Kidman, who stars in the upcoming erotic thriller “Babygirl.”
NICOLE KIDMAN SAYS EROTIC THRILLER ‘BABYGIRL’ WAS ‘LIBERATING’ BUT LEFT HER FEELING ‘VERY EXPOSED’
“No. So you’re putting yourself through the trauma,” said Kidman. “On ‘Babygirl’ there were parts that are now not in the film that we shot that gave me — it was exhausting. But it was also just emotionally disturbing. The same when I was doing ‘Big Little Lies.’ That was disturbing to my body and my psyche because I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. I would have real bruises all over my back and body.”
“I still have my Rue scars,” said Zendaya, whose films “Challengers” and “Dune: Part Two” released earlier this year, referring to her “Euphoria” character.
“My brain would say, ‘Hold on. You’re hurt.’ So, I’ve done things where they clean my chakras and pray and get out the sage,” Kidman added. “Honestly, I’ll take whatever, so I can step into the next place free and not scarred or damaged or wounded. Which sounds like I’m bats— crazy, but I’m not.
“Even just a massage, where suddenly you get a beautiful touch. That’s healing, and we have to heal. I’m still learning not to sacrifice my body for the sake of the art because part of me wants to. Having to value who I am, it’s a journey. But you seem very stable.”
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kidman opened up about her new “raw and dangerous” role in the film and explained why it’s empowering to be viewed as a “sexual being” at 57.
“A lot of times women are discarded at a certain period of their career as a sexual being. So, it was really beautiful to be seen in this way,” the Australian native told the outlet of her portrayal of powerful CEO and mom Romy, who partakes in a hot affair with her younger intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson).
“From the minute I read it, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is a voice I haven’t seen, this is a place that I haven’t been, I don’t think audiences have been.’ My character has reached a stage where she’s got all this power, but she’s not sure who she is, what she wants, what she desires, even though she seems to have it all. And I think that’s really relatable.
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“There are many women who are going, ‘Well, I’ve done this. I’ve got children. I’ve got this husband. And what do I actually want? Who am I, and what are my desires? Do I have to pretend to be something else for people to love me?’ I think it’s very releasing, this film,” Kidman continued. “I hope it is. I’ve had some people say it’s the most disturbing film they’ve ever seen, which I’m like, ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry.’
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“When I read it, I was like, ‘I’ve not read a film like this.’ I thought it was incredibly sexy,” she later added. “Really, just so raw and dangerous, and I couldn’t believe they were giving us the money to make it. The sexuality of it [felt dangerous]. That it wasn’t written for a 20-year-old. It wasn’t written even for a 30-year-old.”
Kidman has had a busy year with six 2024 projects, including starring in Netflix’s “The Perfect Couple,” the Paramount+ series “Lioness” and more.
“I incorporate my family into [my work]. And because I have a musician husband [Keith Urban], he’s got that slightly nomadic thing as well,” she added. “So, he’s not someone that goes, ‘No, I have to stay here. I can’t move.’ My girls, I’ve always said, ‘You are of the world, you’re global children.’ That’s what we do as a family. We travel and we experience things. And that’s a great education, too.”
“Babygirl” opens in theaters Dec. 25.
