The one genre Nicole Kidman is desperate to try: “I’m putting it out there”
Time and time again, Nicole Kidman has proven that she has earned her place amongst the acting elite. Though her record is far from spotless, the Australian has gone for some roles that would have frightened off many of her peers. From sexually explicit roles in her youth to her recent, more mature characters, Kidman always gives everything her all and has produced some spectacular roles. Even as she approaches her 60th birthday, she’s defying expectations with films like Babygirl, a rare example of a major movie portraying a middle-aged woman as desirable.
The lengthy and successful nature of her career has seen Kidman tackle pretty much every genre there is. From family adventures (Paddington, The Golden Compass) to musicals (Nine, Moulin Rouge!) to superhero blockbusters (Aquaman, Batman Forever), if you’re a fan of the star, you’ve got a lot of options to pick from. According to the Academy Award winner herself, there is one type of movie that she’s never gotten a shot at.
“I’ve not done classic horror yet,” she told L’Officiel. “Hardcore horror. I’m putting it out there because I watch hardcore horror”. She namedropped the Australian sleeper hit Talk to Me as a recent example of something she’d enjoyed before shouting out a modern horror great. “I’m a fan of Ti West!” she said, referencing the man behind X, Pearl, and MaXXXine.
Some people would disagree with Kidman’s classification of Talk to Me as ‘hardcore’. There would also be some who would disagree that she’d never been in a horror. In 2001, she appeared in The Others, a film in which she plays a woman whose children can sense the ghosts living in her stately home. She headed up Frank Oz’s 2004 remake of The Stepford Wives, which was played more as a black comedy but has undeniable horror roots. Alongside Colin Farrell and Barry Keoghan, she appeared in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer. In true Lanthimos fashion, it blends a variety of genres, but there are definitely psychological horror elements throughout.
In 2013, she starred in Stoker, a psychological thriller about a young girl and her dubious uncle. “That’s a deep cut,” she said, happy that the interview had brought it up. “No one ever mentions Stoker. [Director] Park Chan-wook, I love him. That monologue; that was the reason I did it.” The scene in question, where Kidman’s character Evelyn scalds her daughter India (Mia Wasikowska), is mesmerising. She was right to take the gig based on it.
She’s also worked with some of the great horror filmmakers. She appeared in Robert Eggers’ The Northman, which isn’t a straight-up fright-fest but certainly contains some of the gothic hallmarks that are present across his oeuvre. There’s also the small matter of Stanley Kubrick, who only made The Shining – one of the best horror movies of all time. Kubrick’s final project, Eyes Wide Shut, featured Kidman and her then-husband Tom Cruise. Again, there are psychological undertones to the film, which could have easily been turned into a horror with a different focus.
There was a time when an esteemed actor appearing in a horror film would have felt like a death sentence. These days, the genre is held in much higher regard, so there’s every chance Kidman could shock us all again.
