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Big Little Lies star Nicole Kidman tells us why she’s ‘always going to support female directors’
The Australian actress, who turns 52 on June 20, discusses helping women in the film industry, her love of sports and her delight at the slow-burn success of the returning HBO drama
Australian actress, Nicole Kidman, stars in HBO’s hit television drama, Big Little Lies, which is back for second season starting on June 9.
Australian actress, singer and producer Nicole Kidman turns 52 on June 20.
We speak to the award-winning mother-of-four about working with women, Australia and the success of the 2017 HBO drama series, Big Little Lies, which co-stars Reese Witherspoon and Meryl Streep, and returns for a second series on June 9.
She’s going to keep working with female filmmakers regularly
“Look at the statistics of women in film and see there’s still a gross imbalance,” she says.
“It’s there, there’s no getting away from it. I’m always going to support female directors, I’m not going to go a year, at most two years, without working with a female director, a female filmmaker.
“I want to support women in the industry. We have to support each other. We can’t rest on our laurels, we can’t ever get complacent because it will revert to what it was. So I’m going to keep talking about it, keep pushing, keep promoting women, create opportunity for women.”
It’s not about the money
“[Indie films are] art to me, and art is never about money. It’s instinct, it’s about what and who I’m connecting with at that moment.
“It’s also about working with new fresh minds, fresh talents, who usually have no money to offer, no money to play with, and if I can help in whatever way I can, bring my weight to it, I will.
For the first two episodes of Big Little Lies, when they aired, I wasn’t hearing or reading too much, and I was a little disappointed. But then this amazing momentum built and it took off and we all were delighted.
“It’s the hardest thing, not just making a film, but having it seen, which without massive amounts of money and marketing, it’s virtually impossible. And there’s so much talent out there and I want to constantly mine that reserve, unearth these rare gems.
“I like to help new arrivals because I was in the same position, someone gave me a chance. But I’m not naive – you have to make money to live, to pay for houses, bills, education, but you can do endorsements to make that money, there are ways of doing it if the art itself isn’t paying very much, or anything at all.”
Actress Nicole Kidman who is delighted by the success of the HBO drama, Big Little Lies.
Aussie rules
“I love to be part of Australian film, I love to work with Australian actors, Australian crews, Australian locations.
“[The 2016 biographical drama], Lion, was an ode to Australia, in the spirit of this beautiful Australian couple who adopt this boy in the glow of such adoring love: it’s a love letter to the people and the culture of Australia.
“I find it hard to explain, and I’m pretty sure I haven’t done a good job of it so far, but there’s this heart and strength to the Australian people, you see it in the characters of Sue and John, it’s who they are. And I grew up with people like that.”
She’s no couch potato
“I go [to play] tennis regularly, I watch tennis, I watch football, I know a lot about American football, because I watch it a lot, I love sports. I run, because I was raised by a dad who was a marathon runner. He did so until he was nearly 80, running eight to 10 miles every second day for my whole life.
“Even when we were growing up in the neighbourhood people would be like, ‘Oh, I saw your dad running!’. And he’d be out with shorts and no shirt and his John McEnroe headband, but it made me love running, and I love to run.”
I want to support women in the industry. We have to support each other. We can’t rest on our laurels [or] ever get complacent because it will revert to what it was. So I’m going to keep promoting women
She enjoys writing, too, but you might never get to read it
“I always write things, but I don’t know if I would ever say something I want to give to the world, or expose. Because in the same way that when I sing, I feel very exposed, when I write, I feel very exposed.
“When I act, I feel exposed, but I’ve sort of now conditioned myself that that’s what I’m willing to give. Like before, when I was acting, and I wouldn’t do that, I was terrible. So now I know, well if I’m going to do it, then you just have to be willing to sort of be completely available and raw.”
Australian actress Nicole Kidman says she is proud to be part of her home country’s film industry.
From Eyes Wide Shut to Big Little Lies, it’s been a journey
“[For Big Little Lies ], for the first two episodes, when they aired, I wasn’t hearing or reading too much, and I was a little disappointed. But then this amazing momentum built and it took off and we all were delighted.
“I’ve learned over time to value acting more than I originally did. That’s what I learned working on [1999 drama] Eyes Wide Shut with [director] Stanley Kubrick. He taught me to have enormous respect and regard for this craft we call acting.
“When I was 14 and first started out as an actress in Australia, acting meant getting a pay cheque, getting to miss school and getting to eat all the chocolate cake I wanted.
“Back then, I enjoyed making movies. Now I respect being allowed to make them and to work with some of the greatest writers, directors and actors in the profession today.”
Home is where the heart is
“I love the melting-pot quality about New York … I think being able to live among different cultures and to find oneself exposed to those influences and being able to move about among various countries is what makes the world so interesting.
“Our world is actually rather small and very accessible, and you shouldn’t be afraid of that fact. Ever since I was a teenager, I always wanted to travel a lot and be someone who couldn’t be defined by her country of origin, but by what lies inside your heart and soul.”