“Nicole, you’re not the girl next door”: Even After Winning an Oscar, Nicole Kidman Was Not Allowed to Play Certain Roles in Hollywood That She Desperately Wanted

Nicole Kidman has never shied away from trying something new in the film industry. You will often see her stepping out of her comfort zone to play complex characters, including the time when she played Virginia Woolf in The Hours, for which she won an Oscar. Coming in from the Australian film industry, Nicole Kidman had to prove herself in Hollywood, and boy, she sure did.

A still from The Hours (2002) | Credits: Miramax Films

However, when it comes to acting, people have some preconceived notions about you. Actors and actresses often get boxed into expectations but Nicole Kidman wanted to spread her wings and soar above it all. She refused to be confined in a box, even when people said to her face that she couldn’t play certain roles that she really wanted to.

Nicole Kidman on Not Being Allowed to Play the Girl Next Door

Nicole Kidman in Expats (2023-24) | Credits: Prime Video

From a witch to a grieving mother, Nicole Kidman’s filmography is filmed to the brim with unique and compelling performances. However, despite having made big waves in both the film and television industry, Kidman wasn’t allowed to play certain roles, or at least, she was just expected not to.

Speaking with The New York Times Magazine, Kidman opened up about identifying as an actor and not a movie star.

When asked how a “movie star” always has a role they play in the public eye, Kidman interrupted by stating,

I don’t see myself as a movie star. I see myself as an actor. I can put on a dress, but that’s the pomp and ceremony. The truth of it is I see myself as an actor.

When asked if she acknowledged the fact that perceptions exist, she recalled how Australian film director Baz Luhrmann would tell her that she couldn’t play certain roles, no matter how much she wanted to.

Baz Luhrmann would always say to me, Nicole, you’re not the girl next door,’ and I’d be like, ‘But I want to be able to play that!’ ‘No, you’ll never get cast as that.’ That I didn’t understand, you know? And Stanley [Kubrick] would say to me, ‘You’re a thoroughbred.’ I don’t take to that. Don’t confine me. Let me grow and explore. That’s all I ask.

In her career so far, the Expats actor has been nominated for a total of five Academy Awards, out of which she has only taken one home with her – Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for The Hours. She also has 2 Emmys and 6 Golden Globes to her name, among many others, proving just how capable she is as an actor. There’s no stopping her.

Nicole Kidman on Pushing Herself into New Things

Nicole Kidman in Just Go with It (2011) | Credits: Columbia Pictures

In the interview, the Just Go with It actress pointed out how people often get boxed into being perceived as their latest character. Whether you have just played a terrifying villain on the film screen or a tragic hero, people might see you as that for a long, long time.

Thus, Kidman understands why actors would only want to do a certain type of role in their career but that kind of professional life is not for her. She wants to keep pushing herself and doing different things.

She said,

It interests me how the latest role you’ve played is usually the way in which you’re going to be perceived. I can see why other people go, “I’m only going to play something that everybody feels sympathy for.” That would be a disservice to the human condition for me because I’m interested in all facets of it.

She also stated, elsewhere in the interview, that while people become more terrified as they grow older, her “desire to keep throwing” herself into things has only increased, be it acting, parenting, or her relationships. Well, that’s Kidman for you!

The Hours is available to rent/buy from Prime Video.