The role Nicole Kidman was told would be a career-killer: “It’s going to be a disaster”
Being an actor means walking a very fine line—just ask Nicole Kidman. The Australian star has navigated the ebbs and flows of fame like few others. In 1998, Practical Magic was panned by critics, only to later be reclaimed as a feminist cult classic. Then there was 2005’s Bewitched, a big-screen adaptation of the classic sitcom—an idea so misguided it’s a wonder it ever made it past the pitching stage. Yet, despite a few missteps along the way, Kidman remains one of the most respected and in-demand performers of her generation.
The thing about choosing a role is that you never know for sure what’s going to be a hit. There’s always that 1% chance that a ‘sure-fire success’ could turn out to be one of the worst bombs of the year, or indeed vice versa. This is precisely what happened to Kidman with the 2002 movie The Hours, in which she plays noted author Virginia Woolf.
“When I read the script, I thought, they can’t want me for Virginia. They must want me for something else. There’s no way I’m going to be able to pull this off,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “I don’t think I’m right. It’s going to be a disaster. [But then I thought] well, if [director] Stephen Daldry believes I can do it, then I have to have some bit of faith. And when do you get a chance as an actress to play older? So many people say, ‘Don’t do it. Oh my God, you shouldn’t! You’ll ruin your career.’ But I kind of like it when people say I shouldn’t do something. It entices me.”
The Hours spans three different time periods, telling the stories of three women, all connected by Woolf’s novel, Mrs Dalloway. Kidman plays the writer herself, struggling with depression while penning the book. In 1951, Julianne Moore weighs up leaving her husband, while Meryl Streep’s character plans a party for her friend with AIDS in 2001. If that weren’t a stacked enough cast already, Ed Harris, John C Reilly, Jeff Daniels, and Toni Collette all play supporting parts.
When asked if she was worried about bringing the famously troubled Woolf to life, Kidman revealed that her own experiences helped inform her portrayal. “The lines get blurred at times between life and art, but I think that’s a good thing,” she said, hinting at her own depression following her divorce from Tom Cruise. “I think that if you take what exists within you and put it into your work, then in some way you’re feeding something, and it’s not so indulgent. It’s actually taking it to another level and expressing yourself.”
This decision proved not to be fatal to Kidman’s career. Far from it. The Hours wasn’t just a critical success – and a personal favourite of the performer – but it was also a surprise hit at the box office too. It earned nine Oscar nominations but only took one home prize. Luckily for our hero, that was ‘Best Actress’.
If Kidman had passed on The Hours, it would have cost her the biggest prize in the acting game. Sometimes, as an actor, you have to trust your gut and go with the projects that appeal to you, no matter what everyone else might tell you.
