Nicole Kidman has shared the one thing that can make filming sex scenes so difficult for her that it becomes a complete deal breaker.
The actor explained that she once had to be very direct with a co-star about something that was putting her off before they shot intimate moments together.
Appearing on the podcast Las Culturistas with Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, Kidman said she’s extremely sensitive to smell, admitting she can be either “drawn to or drawn away based on smell”.
She added that this sensitivity carries over into her work, where unpleasant odors can quickly become distracting—particularly when a scene requires closeness.
Kidman singled out one issue as the biggest problem, saying bad breath is the ultimate turn-off and can stop her from being able to do a sex scene comfortably.
She said: “I don’t think so honey if you have bad breath.
“I cannot stand bad breath, I mean this is a dealbreaker for me. You could be the most gorgeous guy and you come at me with bad breath and I’m like nope.
“If I say breathe on me and I have to recoil, yikes, I’m out. You could not offer me enough money.”
She then shared a specific example of how seriously she takes it, suggesting one of her scene partners learned the hard way.
She continued: “So therefore, when Alexander Skarsgård ate falafel sandwich before we did the scenes in Big Little Lies, I was like ‘no, no, no, Alex’.
“I’m meant to e kissing you and into you, put away the falafel, now because the bad breath does not turn me on.
“As I said, it is very important to smell good but more importantly, the mouth, the taste of the mouth and the smell of the mouth is very important to me.”
The hosts joked that the story might do damage to Skarsgård’s heartthrob image, before Kidman teased that he likely changed his pre-kiss routine afterward.
She went on to reply she is sure that the actor never ate a falafel ever again, ‘nope not before a kiss, not before you make love.’
Elsewhere, Kidman has also recently spoken about another personal topic: her divorce from Keith Urban.
The couple split in September last year, with Kidman citing ‘irreconcilable differences’.
In a recent interview with Variety, gave some small insight into how she has been feeling of late.
When asked in a Variety interview if every year ‘is the ‘year of Nicole Kidman’, the star revealed that she had not been feeling that way recently, saying: “Well, not last year. I was quiet. I had other things going on. I was in my shell.”