Nicole Kidman is practicing what she preaches.
During a recent interview for Time magazine, the Oscar winner opened up about surpassing her 2017 goal of working with a woman director every 18 months since the height of the #MeToo movement. Over the past eight years, she’s collaborated with at least 19 female filmmakers on movies and TV shows.
Kidman explained that often, women directors face undue pressure to “be perfect” with their debut projects. However, the Big Little Lies star said, “It can be changed, but it can only be changed by actually being in the films of women.”
The actress is on a mission to use her immense star power to be a force for change in Hollywood. Most recently, she teamed up with Babygirl director Halina Reijn in their 2024 erotic thriller. Reijn previously told The Hollywood Reporter for Kidman’s December cover story, “She is one of the few people who practices what she preaches when it comes to feminism and empowering women.”
One reason Kidman’s able to team up with so many female directors is that she seemingly never stops working, often saying yes to roles to help create jobs. “People work when Nicole works,” Jamie Lee Curtis, her co-star in the upcoming crime series Scarpetta, told Time. “I’m working because Nicole is working.”
Though Kidman doesn’t necessarily look at herself in that light. “People go, ‘You’re a superwoman,’” she said. “I hate it.”
The Lioness actress admitted she faces challenges like anyone else, even contemplating quitting acting at times. She explained, “When there was nothing exciting or relevant coming my way, when there was massive criticism or bullying, when your self-esteem is shattered, when you’ve been hit with some massive loss or grief and go, ‘I don’t want to get out of bed. It’s too frightening.’”
However, Kidman isn’t going anywhere anytime soon as she has several upcoming projects in the works, including a Practical Magic sequel and Big Little Lies season three.
