Knowing that acting was her calling

Kidman remembers being too pale to safely spend lots of time in the hot Australian sun as a child. Instead, she remained indoors and read voraciously, discovering quite early on that she had a particular ability to lose herself within the stories she encountered.

My ability to enter into the characters that I was reading was there from a very early age.

Anticipating the warm reception to Moulin Rouge

I thought it was fantastic! I thought, "why doesn't everybody love this?"

One of the most widely-beloved films of Kidman's career, Moulin Rouge had a mixed reaction when it premiered at Cannes. Knowing that reinventing the musical in this innovative way could be polarising, Kidman nevertheless remembers feeling more than a little anxious that the film scene didn't initially seem to love the film as much as she did. Once it found its audience, however, it took off as the oft-revisited classic it is today.

Developing a career in Australia

Kidman's long career began and was nurtured in Australia, where she loves working to this day. Films that allow her to use that Aussie accent while giving back to the community of writers and directors that helped shape her are constantly on her mind.

The Australian film industry made me. I started working when I was fourteen and I've been given so much from that industry.

The difference between films you want to make and films that need to be made

There's films that you do because there's stories that need to be put out into the world.

Discussing her new film Boy Erased, in which she portrays a conservative religious mother to a boy who realises he is gay, Kidman remembers the shock she felt upon learning that conversion camps still exist in the world. The main character's experience, which is based on a real story, was something she felt was vital to share with the world.