Nicole Kidman Babygirl Sex Scene Interview: Full Transcript

Nicole Kidman has never shied away from a sexually charged role. But at the age of 57 her new film Baby girl might be her wildest yet, considering what the Australian actress revealed during her press conference.

In it she plays Romy, a CEO with a handsome and devoted husband and two wonderful daughters. But she wants more.

Recent comments about needing to take a “break” while filming explicit sex scenes with her co-stars Antonio Banderas and Harris Dickinson have made global headlines, but that’s not all she said in the now famous interview.

Here we have the full transcript.

Nicole, what were you thinking when you were first approached with this project? You’ve always been an actress willing to take risks in your work, but there’s really nothing better being made right now than Babygirl.

NICOLE KIDMAN: I mean, I don’t see it as a risk. I see it as an opportunity. So for me it’s a ‘Wow!’ I read the script and I knew the title, and I thought, ‘Right, that’s my movie. (laughs) I don’t care what it’s about, but I’ll make it.’ So we (director Halina Reijn and I) circled around each other. Halina had come in and written something for us Blossom (Films, Kidman’s production company). And I knew her work from ‘Instinct’. I find people I’m fascinated by – and I was fascinated by her. And then we would talk on the phone about other things, the things that were going on in our lives, and we kind of crossed paths. And then Baby girl arrived, and I sat down and read it, and I thought, ‘Oh, finally!’ It was like, ‘If I don’t play this, if I can’t make this, it’s going to be so terribly painful.’ Because it was like I read it, and I understood it, I understood it.

We talked about everything for almost an hour and a half to two hours, dissecting it and going through it. And just the themes of it and everything it was about, I was like, ‘No, I understand. I know this.’ And then as an actor you are always in a position where you have to be chosen.

We are not the writer/director, we are the person to whom a director says, “I want you.” So we’re not so much in a position of control, and I think people think we are, but we’re not, you know? So when something comes your way, especially at this age where you go, ‘Ahh what?’ – it was just a gift. And then it’s like, ‘Let’s go on a trip.’ So there is no courage. It’s more about how do we really realize this to the fullest, with all the limitations that come with filmmaking and the financial part of it – everything? And finding the right actors. And so I always see something that is really good.

This movie is so much about Romy’s journey to become comfortable with admitting what she wants, of intimacy to other people, but also to herself?

KIDMAN: And also exploring. It’s almost like you don’t know. I think for me it has been a discovery for a large part of my life. And as I go, I go,” I actually didn’t even know that about myself. I didn’t know that I wanted that, that I needed that, that I was looking for that.’ And I think those kind of winding paths of discovery… because people say, “Oh, what do you really want? Carry your soul…’, especially if you’re in a relationship and you’re thinking, ‘I’m not sure.’ And it changes. And that’s what I love about the way Halina wrote it. The entire film was like a discovery for Romy. And it is a crisis.

The great thing about your character’s relationship with Harris Dickinson’s is that they figure things out as they go. And sometimes that doesn’t go completely smoothly. Sometimes it’s very sexy. In building that dynamic, was it important to leave room for it to be a little awkward or sometimes a little funny?

KIDMAN: Yeah. I mean, I read the script and I thought it was so funny. So that’s me. But it also turned me on. I was a little hypnotized too, and I just loved that I never knew what would happen next. And while it fits into the genre of 1990s thrillers, it has no such twists, and nothing is as it seems as it unravels.

And I loved it too – because she (Reijn) is such a great actress – so I have to say it’s fantastic to work with a woman who can act. It’s so good. Because I would say, ‘Halina, do it for me? Do it. Tell me.’ And because she wants to explore, she allows you to then take it and make it your own. She doesn’t say, ‘I want you to say it rhythmically this way or something like that. But she can give you an idea of ​​what the structure is or what the staging is, or her ideas about it, because she wrote it, she knows it, it’s very personal, and so you have an extraordinary kind of guide that then goes: “But now it’s yours, go play.” And we also had a fantastic cinematographer who, if you work with a great cinematographer, will feel you, dance with you, be a part of you.

And what I also like is that when they work together, because they’ve worked together before, so Jasper (Wolf) and Halina were very close, but they also let the camera roll when you don’t know it, which is fantastic. . Tell all the directors, it’s really great because a lot of what you’re trying to capture happens when you’re not acting. So suddenly they started rolling, and they would just capture it. And I stay in character so that is captured at every moment. It’s like you’re on stage, but you’re on stage for months. Because you can’t break.

That must be difficult?

KIDMAN: And unfortunately, when you have a family at home and all that, there has to be some kind of agreement that’s made where you go: ‘I’m going to go into this now and I’m going to ask your permission to let me go.’ And I now have teenage children who kind of understand it and a husband who is also an artist. So there is a liberation of you in your artistic life and then you come back to your home and your real life.

But some kind of letting go is necessary.

Let’s talk about the sex scenes and your vulnerability in that situation. Was there one in particular that you felt was the biggest challenge or most memorable to film?

KIDMAN: I mean, what does and doesn’t get into the movie is ultimately decided in the editing room. So there’s a huge amount that you’ve done that permeates (laughs) into a film, whether it’s actually in the film or not. So there was so much in terms of exposure and just being with Harris and Antonio (Banderas) and Halina.

And it really was a foursome, because we were all in it together and there was a tremendous amount of sharing and trust and then frustration. It’s like, ‘Don’t touch me!’ There were times when we were filming and I thought, ‘I don’t want to have an orgasm anymore! Don’t come near me! I hate doing this! I don’t care if I’m never touched again in my life. I’m over it!’ It was so present for me all the time that it almost seemed like a burnout.

But what’s fantastic is that there was a huge sense of relief in that and I think the intimacy that you create together in a very safe place – and this is where I don’t think I could have done that with a man – actually I think the only way I could do this was with her (Reijn), because the two of us were talking and I was really talking about things.

And we have talked about and still do talk about so many things that are so secretive and vulnerable – but it is safe. And with that comes growth. And so hopefully at some point this movie will stir something in some people’s minds, or at least raise questions, because there aren’t really any answers. As we all know, there are really just questions, and answers change, and you get to something and go, ‘Oh, now I understand’ – and then you don’t understand.

So it’s always moving, but I love the movement of it. But nothing was too difficult. There were just days when it was too much, if that makes sense.

Any memorable moments?

KIDMAN: My favorite day was the rave, because I had to go to a rave. (laughs) And it really was. And we played loud music and I was allowed to just let loose. And at that point in the film, when we did it, it was just so necessary, that feeling of complete liberation.

But hopefully there’s also depth to it, but it’s funny and entertaining. It’s meant to be entertaining. It’s not meant as a punishment, even though some people, who I won’t name, have said to me that this is the most disturbing movie they’ve ever seen (laughs). What I don’t understand! I don’t find it disturbing at all!

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