Nicole Kidman Had Her First Kiss While Watching The Shining
In a new interview, the Big Little Lies and Lion actress says she remains opens to emotions, which is what makes her such a compelling actress. “I have to be careful what I let in,” she says.
The first time audiences and critics noticed Nicole Kidman as serious actress, and not just the then Mrs. Tom Cruise, was with a little movie Gus Vant Sant movie called To Die For, which ended up having quite the legacy in later years. She was fearless, conniving, and absolutely captivating to watch. Over the years, she’s surprised at every turn. Because she’s such a marquee name, it’s sometimes forgotten that Kidman’s best roles have come in underdog movies and not blockbusters, as the femme fatale in Baz Luhrmann‘s Moulin Rouge or the haunted mother in Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others, both in 2001, as a grieving widow in Jonathan Glazer’s hugely underrated Birth or her devastating turn in John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole. She’s an artist, and she takes parts that challenge her rather than awards bait. For evidence, just look at her supporting but scene-stealing turns in The Paperboy, Genius and The Family Fang, little-seen movies that nonetheless contained phenomenal Kidman performances. She never plays it safe and she didn’t with Lion, the weeper that earned her a fourth Academy Award nomination (Casey Affleck, who made his screen debut in To Die For is also up for an Oscar this year) or Big Little Lies, the HBO drama that premieres this Sunday co-starring Reese Witherspoon, that once reflects Kidman’s unfailing taste and her appetite for taking roles that intrigue her and demand that she stretch as an actress. “I think I’m just open to emotions,” the 49-year-old says. “I have to be careful what I let in.”
So tell me, because I haven’t asked you this in a while, what’s your favorite thing you’ve done on your birthday. When I turned 40 and [husband] Keith [Urban] drove me up the top of this small hill—we were shooting the film Australia—and he sat me down. And he had put together this huge firework display. And I sat there and watched like fireworks that would have cost a fortune, and it was just for the two of us. It was amazing, it was just…it was sexy.
What is your pet peeve in life? When people say they will do something and they don’t. I don’t like that, I don’t like being let down. I also have a thing where—with Keith actually—where I call him and I know it’s terribly demanding but if he doesn’t answer and I have to keep calling back and calling back I get anxious. So I don’t like that. Does that make me high maintenance?
You like your husband, which is a good thing to like your husband. When you were making Lion, did you make this movie in Australia? It’s not the reason I did the film, obviously, but it was one of the great things that drew me to it, was being able to shoot in Australia, and obviously because the Australian film industry gave me my start. To then be able to support it and go back, which is what I’ve been trying to do far more.
Kidman wears Chanel dress; Tiffany & Co. earrings. Beauty: Chanel. Ali wears Simon Miller T-shirt.
This is the first time in a long time, though. I went back and I did a Kim Farrant film called, Strangerland. And that sort of, you know, didn’t find its way. And then they sent me the script of Lion and I just connected to it. And I got to go to Tasmania, which was a place I’d been to when I was 11, 12 on an RV trip with my mom and dad and my sister, and suddenly I was back there, and that is beautiful. Great food, great cheese—the cheese in Tasmania! And then incredible, as you see in the film, landscapes. I’m a travelogue for that place now, because I’m like go, go, go to Tasmania.
So, what movie makes you cry these days, now that you’re a mom is it different what makes you cry? I think it’s probably my age. I’m raw as I get older; I get more and more exposed and sort of vulnerable, I think, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s connected, the compassion and the empathy. Room I saw last year and I was absolutely devastated by it. I think I’m just open to emotions. I have to be careful what I let in. I’m careful what I read, I’m careful because I’m impressionable and I think being that sort of sensitized I just have to be protected. But I’m lucky, because I’ve got a sort of nice protection around me.
Did you cry when you saw Lion? You know people sob during that movie. I did; I cried a few times. And I knew the story, and I saw it with my sister who has six children; she my hero. She sat down and she watched the film. And she’s pretty hard, in the sense that she hasn’t seen a lot of films, she doesn’t have a lot of time. But she sat down, she was wrecked by it. And she came out, she went into the bathroom, and I haven’t seen her like that that often in relation to a movie, and she was in the bathroom and she was shaking and she was crying and she was holding onto me and she said, “That’s not a film, that’s an experience.” I loved that. And that’s when I thought, Wow. This film could really connect. And it has been. Even just this last weekend, I’ve been supporting it and everyone saying to me, aren’t you exhausted? And strangely, I’m not. Because I think the response and the energy from people and the way in which they want to tell me things and is amazing. And it’s really ignited me, it’s given me the desire to keep going out and telling people about it and hoping people will see it.
Emma Stone, Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams and More Are the Best Performances of the Year
Stone wears Chloé tunic; Wolford leggings; her own rings. Beauty: Covergirl. Affleck wears Louis Vuitton jacket and shirt.
Portman wears Dior dress; Mish New York earrings. Beauty: Dior. Negga wears Carolina Herrera dress; Lalaounis earrings. Beauty: Laura Mercier.
Adams wears Prada shirt; Djula earrings. Beauty: Giorgio Armani. McConaughey wears Burberry shirt.
Driver wears AG T-shirt. Mortensen wears Alternative Apparel henley.
Williams wears Louis Vuitton dress and bodysuit. Beauty: Nars. Edgerton wears Burberry T-shirt; Rolex watch.
Kidman wears Chanel dress; Tiffany & Co. earrings. Beauty: Chanel. Ali wears Simon Miller T-shirt.
La La Land
“My real name is Emily Stone, but when I started acting, that name was already taken by another actress, so I had to come up with a different one. For a 16-year-old, picking a new name is an interesting prospect, and back then I said, ‘I’m now going to be Riley Stone!’ So, for about six months I was called Riley. I landed a guest spot on Malcolm in the Middle, and one day they were calling, ‘Riley! Riley! Riley! We need you on set, Riley!’ and I had no idea who they were talking to. At that moment, I realized that I just couldn’t be Riley. So I became Emma. But I miss Emily. I would love to get her back.”
Sonia Rykiel sweater; Commando briefs.
Gold
“I was attracted to Gold because it reminded me of my dad. He loved shady deals. He’d much rather do a shady deal with fun people than a good deal with a bunch of straight-asses. He invested in diamond mines in Ecuador, and there were no fucking diamonds there. It was a scam, but he loved that. That’s the spirit of my character, Kenny Wells. There’s a little poem we have in the movie—‘Bird With No Feet Sleeps in the Wind.’ And that’s it: If Kenny, or my dad, gets the money or not, does it really matter? Would he change? No. Not that guy. These are people who are going to con, finagle, and boot-scoot their way in the side door. They never had the front-door entrance to the American Dream.”
AG jacket; Current/Elliott T-shirt; Levi’s jeans; John Hardy bracelet (right); Ann Demeulemeester boots.
Arrival and Nocturnal Animals
“Tom Ford became my muse on Nocturnal Animals. My character, Susan, was very personal to Tom, and so I based my interpretation on him. Tom would ask on set, ‘Why is Amy using her hands like that?’ And I said, ‘I’m copying you, Tom!’ I used him. I used him up.”
Gucci shirt; Djula earrings.
Jackie
“Playing Jackie Kennedy is scary. I was nervous at first, and I started by doing a lot of research. The biographies on her are all a little bit trashy, but the transcripts of her interviews with the historian Arthur Schlesinger were really helpful. He taped everything, and you can hear Jackie’s voice. Her intellect and her wit and what she’s bitter about are immediately apparent. At the same time, I was going to costume fittings and makeup tests. When I put on the Jackie wig, the physical and emotional sides came together. The hair itself is so iconic that once you have it right, you can start to see Jackie. I don’t really look like her, but I felt like I was in her skin.”
Equipment dress.
Paterson and Silence
“Silence is the story of two Jesuit priests on a journey from Macao to Japan in search of their mentor, a priest who may have renounced his faith. When Martin Scorsese asked me to come to his house to talk about the movie, I already knew that for 28 years it had been his passion project. We talked about Silence, but when Scorsese starts a sentence, ‘When we were shooting Raging Bull…’ you can’t help but say, ‘Yeah, okay, tell me everything.’ So we talked for a long time, and finally he asked me if I would be willing to lose weight for the role. It made sense: How can you play a 17th-century persecuted priest while eating great meals? So I lost around 51 pounds. The weight loss was only bad in that, you know, I’d try to figure out how to play a scene and I had no ideas, because I was so damn hungry. Then I’d have a scoop of peanut butter and suddenly everything turned on!”
Dior Homme jacket; Rag & Bone Standard Issue T-shirt and jeans; Rolex watch. On model: Wolford stockings.
Hell or High Water
What was your first audition? My parents were both actors. I had just graduated from college, and my father had gone in for an audition for Gilmore Girls. He told the casting directors, “My son is back in town. Will you have him in for a reading?” So it was nepotism at its best. I can’t remember the role—maybe a boyfriend to someone? I got my start playing boyfriends, husbands-to-be, and princes.
In Hell or High Water you play a kind of modern Western antihero. You don’t speak much. When I read the script, the image that came to mind was of a man on a porch squinting through harsh sunlight into the distance, but not talking. I have a lot of similar memories of my father, where we are sitting next to each other and not saying much. Westerns have a stoic silence I’ve always appreciated. These days, we have so many distractions. I have minor ADD, so if anything grabs me and keeps me from petting my dog or collaging or just daydreaming, I immediately pay attention.
Brunello Cucinelli sweater; Sandro trousers; Loewe shoes.
Michael Kors henley. Model wears Araks robe; Stella McCartney Lingerie bra; Fifi Chachnil briefs; Falke stockings; Gianvito Rossi shoes.
Loving
“When I auditioned for the part of Mildred Loving, I had to sort of disappear into her character. Usually, I don’t create a costume for an audition, but this time I wore a summer dress. I knew that coming in the door looking like this woman would have an impact. A year later, I learned I got the part. At the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, I walked up the steps of the Palais in full makeup, and I walked down the steps with mascara dripping. It was such an emotional experience. All I could think was that I needed to blow my nose before it dripped all over my frock.”
Prada top and skirt; Fabiana Filippi top (underneath).
Hidden Figures
“I’m a pretty good actress. You could say that, right? Well, to play Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who figured out a way to get NASA astronauts into space, I had to be believable as a math expert—and I failed math in college. Precalculus looked like Chinese to me. Even with two tutors, I still failed. So God has an incredible sense of humor, because now I am playing a mathematician! Even on set, they would have a professor there to try and teach me. I said, ‘Show me what I have to write and I’ll memorize it, because I’m not gonna get it.’ Take that, math! I won: I became an actress.”
Monse shirt; La Perla bra; Forevermark by Natalie K earrings; Jimmy Choo shoes.
Rules Don’t Apply
“I never knew Howard Hughes, so I’m able to take liberties, to allow my imagination to go to work. I like to quote Henry Ford, who said, ‘History is bunk.’ I like to quote Winston Churchill, who said, ‘History will be kind to me, because I intend to write it myself.’ And, in Rules Don’t Apply, I quote Mr. Hughes himself. He said, ‘Never check an interesting fact.’ ”
Jeffrey Rüdes sweater.
Manchester by the Sea
“I used to love movies that made me cry, and now all movies seem to make me cry. I don’t like that so much. I have my own things to cry about. I remember being young and sitting on the floor in my father’s apartment watching The Elephant Man on his black and white TV. When the Elephant Man did his speech—‘I am not an animal’—I started sobbing. That’s a tearjerker. That film made a superstrong impression on me. It set a certain standard in my mind of what was possible.”
Louis Vuitton pants; Falke socks. On model: Alexander Wang sweater.
A Monster Calls and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
“Recently, I seem to be doing a lot of dying onscreen. Lizzie, my character in A Monster Calls, has cancer, and I became obsessed with the way someone’s voice changes as their body deteriorates, and how they change the way they hold their body. Cancer patients would tell me things like, ‘You become obsessed with painting your nails, because your body is out of control.’ It became harder and harder to play Lizzie. I don’t think I’m going to die anymore.”
Giorgio Armani dress; Djula earrings; Tacori ring.
Allied, It’s Only the End of the World, and Assassin’s Creed
“It might sound weird, but I always cry at the end of Step Brothers. I’ve seen the movie 10 times, and it still touches me at the end, when Will Ferrell sings. You don’t expect to cry watching that type of comedy, but I always do.”
Burberry trenchcoat; Loro Piana sweater; Chopard earrings.
Hell or High Water
“I remember doing an interview years ago and being asked if I was one of those actors who takes the part home with me. I answered, ‘No. Not really.’ My wife happened to be in the room, and she started to laugh. Apparently, I had been playing a terrible person—a killer or someone who buries people alive or something—and she definitely noticed. I wasn’t fun to live with.”
Boss coat; A.P.C. jeans; the Frye Company boots.
Lion
“When I was cast in Slumdog Millionaire I was 17. At our first major screening, I walked the red carpet in my school shoes and a terrible suit I found on the high street, in London, with my mum. My costar, Freida Pinto, was very beautiful, very glamorous, and they said, ‘We can’t have this kid walking the red carpet with her! He’s spoiling the whole picture!’ So they gave me a new suit and fixed me up. It was a bit like Pretty Woman.”
Hermès sweater; Frame Denim jeans.
The Edge of Seventeen
Where was your first kiss? My first kiss was actually onscreen. I was in a graduate-thesis film called She’s a Fox, and I had to kiss two guys in it. I think I was 12. I was very nervous. One of the guys was shorter than me, and he had to stand on an apple box… Awkward! He told me, “I’m going to pretend I’m kissing my mom!” I was pretty sure that’s not the thing you say before you kiss a girl, so I looked at him and said, “Okay, I’m going to pretend I’m kissing my dog!”
Where was your first real-life kiss, then? At my house, by my front door. Which kind of sucks, because every time I walk through my front door I think about it. The kiss was a little messy, and I looked at the guy and said, “No, no, you can do better.” That’s not what you’re supposed to say, but I said it anyway.
Max Mara bralette; DKNY pants; Cartier earrings; Jimmy Choo shoes.
Max Mara bralette; DKNY pants; Cartier earrings.
The Witch and Split
You say you don’t like watching horror films—so what’s it like for you to act in them? I’m a real scaredy-cat. I’m not good at being frightened. But I do like acting in a horror movie, because I get to feel so intensely. You put yourself in these extreme emotional situations, and it wears you out in a great way. Afterward, I go home and get a good night’s sleep. The work chills me out: I’m a lot more stable since I’ve been in scary movies.
What frightens you? Revolving doors. I worry they’ll cut me in half. Strangers will see me tense up and hold my hand as I’m going through them. I’m constantly worried that I’m not going to make it through the door alive.
Gucci jacket, shirt, and pants.
Midnight Special, Elvis & Nixon, and Nocturnal Animals
“Doing a sex scene is just like having sex, except without any of the pleasure. The horror, fear, anxiety, sadness, and loneliness of sex is all there to enjoy—but none of the happiness.”
Saint Laurent jacket, shirt, and tie; Tiffany & Co. watch.
Hacksaw Ridge and Silence
“The majority of my process in playing a priest in Silence was praying. I’d never really prayed before, and I developed a relationship with a power greater than myself—call it God, call it love, call it what you will. It became very natural to me, and I realized that we’re all praying all the time. There’s that human impulse to worship and to long for a connection to the divine. Unfortunately, in our culture we are driven to worship things that are false and empty. I had a year of exploring this idea of what we are truly longing for and how we actually go to the places that can feed that longing. We all get glimpses of eternity every day. It’s just a question of whether we’re looking up from our iPhones long enough to notice.”
Alexander McQueen jacket and pants; A.P.C. shirt.
Maggie’s Plan and 20th Century Women
What is your karaoke song? It’s the nerdiest one ever: “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” by Billy Joel. It’s one of those songs that if you were a certain kind of teenage girl—me!—you thought knowing all the words would help you get a boyfriend. And then, about 30 seconds too late, you realize that it won’t. But it remains my song. I had the same thought about “Modern Major General,” by Gilbert and Sullivan. I thought guys were looking for a girl who could memorize a lot of names, but they didn’t care about that. They just cared about getting a hand job or something.
Do you have a cinematic crush? I would have to say Melanie Griffith in Working Girl—the first time she meets Harrison Ford at the bar. She’s all done up and she tells him, “I’ve got a head for business and a bod for sin.”And young Harrison Ford…what a dreamboat! But it’s her I truly love. She’s so compelling and funny. She’s sexy without being plastic. I think a lot of people miss seeing women that way.
Proenza Schouler dress; Guidi boots.
Moonlight
Were you a dramatic child? Yes, I used to stand in front of the mirror and try to make myself cry. I would also try different accents. I was living in an imaginary world, usually with Michael Jackson. He was going to rescue me! I used to draw pictures of me and Michael getting married, and I would send them to his fan club. I would imagine Michael waiting for me at the gate of my school, eager to whisk me away to a happier world.
Why Michael Jackson? I imagined myself as a Peter Pan kind of character, and Michael represented that existence. He was my guy.
Miu Miu coat, sweater, shorts, and shoes.
Manchester by the Sea
“As a little kid, my first love was IMDB [the data bank for movies and television]. I would memorize the birthdays of child actors. I really wanted to be an actor, and I related to the kids in the industry. But now that I think about it, memorizing their birthdays is not cute at all—it’s a little serial killer–ish.”
Prada sweater; Brooks Brothers boxers.
Lion
What was your favorite birthday? When I turned 40, my husband, Keith [Urban], drove me up to the top of this small hill in Australia and sat me down. He had put together this huge fireworks display. It was just for the two of us! It was sexy.
What is your pet peeve? When people say they will do something and they don’t. And I know it’s terribly demanding, but I don’t like it when my husband doesn’t answer his phone. I have to keep calling and calling, and I get anxious. Does that make me high-maintenance?
What movie has made you cry? Last year I saw Room, and I was absolutely devastated by it. I’m raw as I get older. I have to be careful what I let in.
Where was your first kiss? This is crazy: We were playing hooky from school. I had my first kiss while watching The Shining. Is that not weird? And we did a few things other than kiss too! I didn’t see a lot of the movie.
Chanel sweater, dress, shorts, and shoes; Bulgari earrings.
Your speech in that movie is so overwhelming, it’s very touching. I mean, I wonder when you read the script, did it speak to you immediately? Yeah, I connected to it. The minute I read it I went, “I know this state of being, I know this woman.” And then when I met Sue, whom I’m playing, I asked her hours and hours of questions. I’ve always said when you play a supporting role you still have to do all of the homework and all of the preparation that you have to do for a leading role. You just have to because otherwise you don’t have the human being. And she just told me things I would immediately understand. It was one of those things where I’m meant to be her. And she apparently wanted me to play her.
Really? That’s so lovely. I mean, it’s lovely and then you go, “I hope she’s not disappointed. She hasn’t been, thank god, because that’s a huge pressure, in the sense of somebody watching your interpretation of their life kind of in this compact way. I mean, she’s in my life now. She’s very, very special and she’s very warm and extremely maternal.
All right, one more question but I’ve never asked you this and I’ve always wanted to. Where was your first kiss? This is crazy. So I’m watching The Shining, can you believe it? And we’re playing hooky from school. And I have my first kiss watching The Shining, is that not weird? And I we did a few other things than just kiss too. Don’t ask.
Was there a particular part of it? Well, I didn’t see a lot of it. But I’m very—I love that film.
Couture at the Oscars: 15 Memorable Gowns from the Biggest Award Show of the Year
Nicole Kidman wearing Christian Dior Haute Couture at the 1997 Academy Awards
Marion Cotillard wearing Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture at the 2008 Academy Awards
Zoe Saldana wearing Givenchy at the 2010 Academy Awards
Sarah Jessica Parker wearing Chanel couture at the 2010 Academy Awards.
Rachel McAdams wearing Elie Saab couture at the 2010 Academy Awards.
Anne Hathaway wearing Valentino couture at the 2011 Academy Awards.
Mila Kunis wearing Elie Saab couture at the 2011 Academy Awards.
(L,R) Rooney Mara at the 2012 Academy Awards; Karlie Kloss walks the Spring 2009 Givenchy couture runway.
(L,R) Emma Stone at the 2012 Academy Awards; a model walks the Spring 2012 Giambattista Valli couture runway.
Jennifer Lawrence wearing Dior couture at the 2013 Academy Awards
Angelina Jolie wearing Elie Saab couture at the 2014 Academy Awards.
Lady Gaga wearing Atelier Versace at the 2014 Academy Awards
Keira Knightley wearing Valentino couture at the 2015 Academy Awards.
Gwyneth Paltrow wearing Ralph & Russo couture at the 2015 Academy Awards.
Julianne Moore wearing Chanel couture at the 2016 Academy Awards.
