Nicole Kidman is fully embracing her sexuality.
In a new interview, the Academy Award-winning actress — who stars in the upcoming erotic thriller "Babygirl" — opened up her new "raw and dangerous" role in the film and explained why it's empowering to be viewed as a "sexual being" at 57 years old.
"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 Hollywood Reporter, of her portrayal of powerful CEO and mom Romy, who partakes in a hot affair with her younger intern, Samuel (Harris Dickinson), in the movie. "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."
NICOLE KIDMAN SAYS EROTIC THRILLER 'BABYGIRL' WAS 'LIBERATING' BUT LEFT HER FEELING 'VERY EXPOSED'
"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.’"
"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."
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According to THR, Kidman acts out various types of orgasms within the film — a task, she said, was worth exploring more.
"I blush, still!" she replied when asked what it was like figuring out how to play out different orgasms in front of the camera. "That’s insane. But that’s a good thing, I suppose. I’m very interested in exploring those things, but I’m not that extroverted. I was so in character. To pull the curtain back on all of it, it’s too sacred."
However, Kidman said it was important to work on this aspect of the film with her female director, Halina Reijn.
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"Those ones may not look pretty or sound pretty," she said when describing the "Hollywood orgasms" versus the ones that "look and sound very different." "Or be what we think is pretty. Halina has always wanted to do something like this. That’s probably why we constantly say we need women in all areas of filmmaking, telling different stories. It’s not just to be more fair. It’s actually because it’s kind of fascinating. And for people to feel, ‘I can be who I am.’ I want people to go see this in the cinema, not just clicking on this at home, secretly, watching it in their own little secret way. There’s something extraordinary about seeing it with a group of people."
The actress has undoubtedly had a busy year with six 2024 projects, including starring in Netflix's "The Perfect Couple," the Paramount+ series "Lioness" and more.
"You always feel there’s a limited amount of time, and I’m trying to share what I have," she said of choosing her roles wisely. "The industry, it feels like there’s always this clock. I’m also raising my daughters and I have my marriage [to husband Keith Urban]. I have a lot of girlfriends. I have a very, very tight family and not just my immediate family."
"I incorporate my family into [my work]. And because I have a musician husband, 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."
With a full and hectic professional schedule to maintain, Kidman said she still has aspirations to do other things that will feed her soul on a much more personal level.
"I might do a play. I would like to hike Machu Picchu. I want to go skiing, so I have to not be filming to ski," she said. "I love hiking in Austria. My husband and I want to go do that. And then we want to take the girls to Japan on spring break. And lots of swimming in the ocean. I find the ocean very, very soothing. I just love the magnitude of it; it puts everything into perspective for me."
"But I also love mountains," Kidman added. "The one thing that I find torturous is if I’m held captive in a room and I can’t get out for 24 hours. I just need fresh air, I need to get out and be able to walk. They call it forest bathing."
"Babygirl" is set to open in theaters on Dec. 25.
