Nicole Kidman: The Q Interview

Nicole Kidman, 36, was born into a medical family and brought up in Sydney. In her second big role, in Days of Thunder (1990), she met her future husband, Tom Cruise. She then won a Golden Globe for her role as a homicidal weathergirl in To Die For, and acclaim for her performance in Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady. After appearing in Eyes Wide Shut Cruise and Kidman divorced in 2001. Since then, she has triumphed with a number of adventurous roles and won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours. She has two adopted children, Isabella and Connor. She is currently dating Lenny Kravitz.

Do you ever stop working?

Well, I'm just about to get on a plane and take three months off. It might seem like I don't stop working, but the films that are coming out now were pretty quick to make. Cold Mountain was a long shoot, but The Human Stain and The Hours were three weeks each and Dogville was six weeks. So I manage to have some downtime. I'm kind of over all this talking - I'm getting sick of the sound of my own voice.

Do you feel like you're in your prime?

Absolutely not. I've never felt good about my work, not when I see it on screen, I just don't get it. The American Cinematheque gave me an award recently, and the ceremony consisted of them showing loads of clips of my work while all these great directors were sitting there. I thought, "Oh, this is appalling, I really can't act, can I?" I was so embarrassed by the clips. I'm doing a film with Sydney Pollack in March, and I was sure he was going to fire me. I leaned over and said, "Sydney, I totally understand if you don't want me for the movie any more." It feels like I spend my whole time battling just to remain in the industry. I found out recently that Dame Judi Dench feels the same about her work - it was a relief to discover that someone I admire has that problem too.

Didn't Jane Campion tell you in the 1990s to "protect your talent"?

Yeah, she sent that warning to me on a postcard. It was scary! She thought I'd been careless. She said, "I think they've broken your spirit over there". I cried. I was like, "Really?" I was hoping it wasn't true. I had different priorities then.

Like what?

Raising my children. That's what I spent my twenties doing. I worked but not necessarily on things that were from the heart. It was more about fitting the work into my life. Now my kids are older and I'm like a lot of other women at this stage, who you often find re-entering the workforce or going back to get a degree. Just reasserting themselves creatively. I have to give something back to myself otherwise I'll get to 60 and think, "What did I do?"

Did you parents encourage you to be ambitious?

My mother wanted to be a doctor but she had kids and never got round to it. She always told my sister and me not to let life pass us by. She said that if she could have her life over again, she wouldn't have us, which sounds terrible, I know. If you listen to it as a woman speaking, rather than a mother, you go, "OK, I hear the message".

Do you have any more common sense than your character in Cold Mountain?

Probably not. Anthony [Minghella] said I have the same thing that he does - everything goes on in my head. He said I've got to watch out because I walk around looking kind of vague, my head in the clouds. I need to have my feet on the ground.

Do you have a wish-list of filmmakers?

I like François Ozon, but Wong Kar Wai is basically god as far as I'm concerned. I just adore him. We met recently and talked over some ideas. That's his whole thing - he just works on ideas. Someone asked me if I thought it was a risk, but I see it more as a blessing. The formulaic movies are a risk because you know you've got to get through them without being corrupted.

Isn't Wong Kar Wai notorious for taking his time with actors?

Yeah, he told me about that. We'll see where we end up. Lars Von Trier was always on my list as well. For a long time before Dogville I wanted to work with him. We will work together again, I'm sure.

Your character in Dogville is treated brutally. Have you seen the film with an audience?

I saw it in Cannes. It was very hard for me, sitting with thousands of people and watching myself be humiliated on screen.

At the screening I went to the audience was cheering when you got your revenge...

You're kidding? Oh my God... I just got chills along my arms when you told me that.

I've heard it said you're attracted to anything that scares you.

It's true. A friend of mine once told me that I dance too close to the flame. That sounds ominous, doesn't it? I guess that means I'm going to get burned and fried eventually. If I get scared by something, that pushes me toward it. I don't just mean professionally. Have you ever had that thing when you are standing on a roof and you get drawn closer and closer to the edge? I stand there and say to myself: "Jump!" And I literally have to stop myself. Or when I'm hiking or skiing, I always feel the pull of the cliff.

One last thing: what's your favourite Lenny Kravitz song?

Oh gosh... Oh dear. Um... I don't know if I have one. Yes... I do, it's "Let Love Rule".

'Cold Mountain' is on general release