Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Nicole Kidman says The Undoing made her ‘really sick’

'Your immune system doesn't know the difference between acting and truth,' said the Oscar-winner

Louis Chilton
Tuesday 12 January 2021 12:00 GMT
Comments
Trailer for The Undoing

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Nicole Kidman has opened up about the toll that The Undoing took on her mental and physical health.

The Oscar-winning actor played Grace Fraser on the hit HBO thriller, which aired in the UK on Sky Atlantic last year.

In the series, Kidman’s character comes to harrowing realisations about the behaviour of her oncologist husband, Dr Jonathan Fraser (Hugh Grant).

Speaking to Marc Maron on his WTF podcast, Kidman said:  “On The Undoing it kind of happened where I was suddenly in this place of... there was sort of a disquietedness to my personality, where I was uneasy and there was duress on who I was.”

The Destroyer star said that she even became “really sick” during production on the series.

“I went down for a week,” she claimed, “because your immune system doesn't know the difference between acting and truth when you're doing them.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, Kidman also described the moment she learned of the death of the legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, who directed her alongside then-husband Tom Cruise in 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut.

She revealed that Kubrick had faxed her the night before she learned of his death, asking her to call him, but she didn’t.

“I just started screaming. I collapsed on the ground,” she said. “I was that close to him.

“I have a huge fear of phone calls in the night now,” she continued, “because I've received a number of them with that sort of news, my father included.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in