Nicole Kidman recently shared that she felt ‘vulnerable’ while shooting specific scenes in her latest film, Babygirl.
The film had its global premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Friday, 30 August.
Babygirl delves into an age-gap relationship where Kidman portrays CEO Romy, who is engaged in an affair with her intern, Samuel, played by Harris Dickinson.
As Romy juggles her high-pressure career with her marriage to director Jacob, played by Antonio Banderas, the situation becomes more convoluted when she and Samuel embark on a passionate affair.
At 57, Kidman has described the erotic thriller as one of the ‘most exposing’ projects of her career.
She expressed feeling ‘exposed and vulnerable and frightened’ about sharing the film with the world. “I think this film is obviously yes about sex, but it’s about desire it’s about your inner thoughts, it’s about secrets, it’s about marriage, it’s about truth, power, consent,” she explained.
“… I don’t think there’s a judgement attached (about the character). It’s for each person to react to Romy and the way she behaves.”
Kidman noted that the experience felt very ‘authentic’ and ‘protected.’ “There was enormous caretaking by all of us, we were all very gentle with each other and helped each other. It felt very authentic, protected and, at the same time, real,” she added.
In an interview with IndieWire, Kidman revealed she didn’t want to ‘shy away’ from feeling ‘vulnerable’ in her roles, despite the exposure it entails.
“I’ve made some films that are pretty exposing, but not like this,” she stated.
“I just work with abandonment. […] A lot of the themes in my movies have been explored through the lens of sexuality. I’ve not eliminated that or tried to pretend it isn’t there. […] That’s vulnerable, but I’m never going to shy away from that to my dying day. I’ll place myself in a vulnerable position, and see where that takes me.
“It left me ragged. At some point I was like, I don’t want to be touched.
“I don’t want to do this anymore, but at the same time I was compelled to do it.
“I felt very exposed as an actor, as a woman, as a human being. I had to go in and go out like, I need to put my protection back on. What have I just done? Where did I go? What did I do?”
The movie also features performances by Sophie Wilde, Antonio Banderas, Jean Reno, Victor Slezak, and Esther McGregor.
Babygirl is set to release in movie theaters in the US on December 25 and in the UK on December 20.