The role that brought Nicole Kidman’s career full-circle: “Oh my gosh, this is big time”
Nicole Kidman is a seasoned film industry veteran, having experienced all sides of Hollywood—independent features, commercial blockbusters, and limited series. After starting out in her native Australia, she rose to global fame with her role in To Die For, Gus Van Sant’s biting satire of the media and news cycle.
From there, she continued to earn critical acclaim with leading roles in Eyes Wide Shut, The Others, and Moulin Rouge, becoming one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors. Her versatility and captivating screen presence, combined with a willingness to take creative risks and push artistic boundaries, have solidified her as one of the industry’s most respected talents.
Due to her unique working philosophy and deep respect for the craft of filmmaking, she has become one of the most influential actors of all time, working with great auteurs such as Lars Von Trier, Jonathan Glazer, Susanne Bier, Yorgos Lanthimos and Sofia Coppola.
Over the years, her work has only continued to grow, reflecting all corners of cinema through her vast and diverse filmography, remaining as one of the few people in Hollywood to actively use her power to amplify the voices of under-represented filmmakers and unseen stories. However, the actor has also done this through her work in television, becoming one of the pioneering forces behind a new era that has revitalised the quality and depth of stories we watch at home.
One of Kidman’s first major roles was that of Katrina Stanton in Bangkok Hilton, a limited series directed by Ken Cameron in 1989 about a woman who is imprisoned in a Thai hotel for carrying her boyfriend’s heroin. While the actor made her beginnings in television, she was surprised by her return to the medium later on in her career, with Kidman playing the now infamous role of Celeste in Big Little Lies, directed by the late Jean-Marc Vallée.
When discussing this, the actor shared her thoughts at making a full-circle move in her career and her early work on Bangkok Hilton saying, “I remember that role, getting on a plane, going to Thailand and London, working with Denholm Elliott and going, ‘Oh my gosh, this is big time’. Bangkok Hilton and Vietnam, they were the big things, those limited series rated through the roof. Television was where incredible work was being done, right? What’s fascinating is that I’ve come full circle and I’m working in TV again.”
Television has undergone an interesting shift over the years, with the rise of streaming slowly killing the art form and changing the way we watch this type of media. There used to be more respect for the craft, with people patiently waiting each week for the release of a new episode, but now, it is seen as ‘content’ and consumed in one go by viewers who have had their attention spans corrupted by the media.
However, Kidman has been one of the key forces in changing our approach to the medium, creating well-crafted and moving shows such as Big Little Lies, which have shown the power of long-form stories and the emotional pay-off of watching something intentionally.
