The new erotic thriller from A24 is set to melt a significant amount of snow when it debuts on Christmas day, but before Babygirl opens nationwide, star Nicole Kidman is letting everyone know how it felt to shoot the film’s risqué scenes, and why she wanted to explore themes of BDSM in the first place. Directed by Halina Reijn, Kidman stars as Romy, a high-ranking CEO who begins a whirlwind affair with her much younger intern, portrayed by The Iron Claw’s Harris Dickinson. Think a gender-swapped 50 Shades of Grey with the roles reversed.
Speaking with People at the London West Hollywood in Los Angeles during a Q&A, Kidman opened up about the steamy new thriller, and what it was like to delve deep into the film’s sexual kinks. She said it’s all part and parcel with being an actor, which comes with a certain desire to explore the human condition.
I’ve always been on a quest as an actor, I’m always going, where have I not been? And what can I explore as a human being? And this was an area I’d never been.
Some might point out the Stanley Kubrick erotic mystery Eyes Wide Shut as Kidman having already explored these themes, but that was 25 years ago, and more of a vehicle for Tom Cruise than anything else. In Babygirl, the actress is front and center, and much more comfortable in her own skin, especially with a female director steering the ship. For her, that’s part of what made shooting Babygirl so intriguing, knowing she was entirely safe in Reijn’s hands.
“There’s a sort of a jump off the cliff thing where you go, okay, I’m just going to abandon everything and explore this with the people that I trust in a genre that is already set, but hopefully we can explore new territory and especially with a female at the helm. You have your director going, ‘I will protect you. Nothing that’s going to be in the film will be anything that you are not comfortable with. You are going to be okay.'”
Nicole Kidman Shows No Signs of Slowing Down
Having gotten her start in the 1983 Australian film Bush Christmas, Kidman has been acting for more than four decades now, and if you thought she might be interested in slowing things down a little, think again. The Aussie superstar has no less than five projects on her plate right now, with one of them being the highly-anticipated sequel to the 1998 romantic fantasy, Practical Magic.
She’s also adapting yet another Liane Moriarty book for the small screen, The Last Anniversary, which follows two other adaptations, those being Big Little Lies, and Nine Perfect Strangers, the latter of which will have its second season debut at some point in 2025. From there she’ll star alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in an adaptation of Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Carpetta book series, portraying the titular forensic pathologist in the Prime Video show that looks to follow in the footsteps of Reacher and the upcoming Cross series based on James Patterson’s popular novels.
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Nicole Kidman Wants to Do a Hardcore Horror Movie
The actress previously dabbled in the horror genre when she starred in the 2001 supernatural critical and financial success, The Others.
Needless to say, Kidman is undoubtedly one of Hollywood’s busiest actresses right now, and with the upcoming release of Babygirl, it’s interesting to see all the ways she continues to challenge herself. Whether the film will strike a chord with audiences remains to be seen, but even if it doesn’t, no one can fault her for taking chances this deep into her celebrated career.
Babygirl
- Release Date
- December 25, 2024
- Director
- Halina Reijn
- Runtime
- 114 Minutes