Nicole Kidman names the directors she’s dying to work with
Nicole Kidman, one of the most well-known and versatile actors of her era, has worked with some of the most avant-garde directors in the industry. Throughout her career, Kidman has always sought to collaborate with directors who push the boundaries and challenge her, from her early breakthrough roles to her bold performances in complex dramas with compelling character development.
In 2007, while promoting Noah Baumbach’s indie-dramedy Margot at the Wedding, Kidman was interviewed by Movies, where she was praised for her willingness to work on small, independent passion projects with visionary young directors—something that has been a constant throughout her career.
When asked if there were any directors on her ideal shortlist to work with in the future, though, Kidman gave a typically thoughtful response. She mused, “I seek out directors who are curious about…who I think are strong voices. I’m not fond of difficult directors. I’m drawn to that in a way. I love working internationally. They’ve seen these scripts. They’re the ones.”
The A-list star admitted that, by that point in her career, she didn’t need to chase collaborators – they pursued her instead. She said, “I sort of tend to get things, and I get to respond, which is a lovely place to be as an actor.”
Having said that, though, there were still a couple of directing legends she’d yet to work with – and it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Kidman revealed, “I really would love to work with Scorsese. I’d love him to construct a film around a woman. I still ask him all the time because I’d be interested in seeing that movie. I’d like to work with Spielberg, actually. I’ve always said I wanted to work with Steven, and I’ve known him as a friend for a long time, so I would like to do that.”
Kidman then disclosed that she had her eye on acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, but only if the potential project would take close a little closer to her home. She concluded, “There are a number of directors – Joe Wright. I’m very curious about a number of different directors, and I could name a huge list, but whether our cards cross, I don’t know.”
In the end, Kidman wound up working with none of these directors, although she was attached to a project with Wong entitled The Lady From Shanghai. Sadly, it fell apart, and Wong has since only directed one English-language feature—My Blueberry Nights, which starred Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Rachel Weisz.
Perhaps the most salient quote from Kidman, though, came when she said, “I’d be willing to go back into Dogville territory at some stage.” Of course, this was the 2003 arthouse film directed by Lars von Trier, revered by many critics but rejected by others as pretentious. In hindsight, it is maybe the best indicator of where Kidman wanted to take her career and the types of directors she wanted to collaborate with.
You see, over the years, Kidman has worked on lots of unique, left-of-centre projects with directors who have a truly defined creative vision all their own. There was her 2013 psychological thriller Stoker, directed by Oldboy’s Park Chan-wook, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer in 2017. Destroyer – a neo-noir which saw Kidman work with Karyn Kusama – followed in 2018, and in 2023, she played a supporting role in Robert Eggers’ brutal historical epic The Northman. She even took this auteur-driven approach to TV, working with The Power of the Dog’s Jane Campion on Top of the Lake: China Girl.
All in all, Kidman may not have found her way into a Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg picture, but she’s still managed to work with a number of extraordinarily unique directorial talents instead.
