Nicole Kidman on Her Very Big Year at Cannes: ‘I Am Just Trying to Stay Very Bold and Open’
You can’t swing a beret at this year’s Cannes Film Festival without hitting a Nicole Kidman-starring project, and no one is more surprised by that than the actress herself.
“To have four projects here, that is sort of a confluence of events,” Kidman said on Monday morning at a Cannes press conference for Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” per Vanity Fair. “It is not something I was aware would happen.”
It’s also not something to argue with, at least for fans of the Aussie actress’ always-stellar performances and her increasingly varied tastes.
Kidman will be strolling the Croisette with four — very different — projects this year, including “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” (which officially premieres tonight), along with Jane Campion’s “Top of the Lake: China Girl,” Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled,” and John Cameron Mitchell’s “How to Talk to Girls at Parties.”
“I am just trying to stay very bold and open and try things and support filmmakers that I believe in,” Kidman said at the conference. “And also people like Jane Campion, who has been my friend since I was 14 and discovered me basically…I am at that point of my life where I am trying to act as though I am 21 and starting my career.”
For the actress, that means working with a host of unique directors on a slew of special projects — not just talking the “I love doing different things!” talk, but walking the actual walk — something that is on full display at this year’s festival.
“In terms of pushing the boundaries, I want to support people who are trying different things or who have a very, very unique filmmaking style or who are first-time filmmakers who can’t get things made,” Kidman said.
She added, specifically referencing Lanthimos’ latest giddily off-key drama, “I have worked a lot. I don’t have to work. I work because it is still my passion. It is still the way in which I express myself. To have the opportunity to get to go to Cincinnati, and to work on this — to me, that’s an honor, and I still consider that and stay in that place of being humbled. ”
Kidman’s Cannes-bound choices are only part of her drive to express herself, and she also referenced this year’s other big Kidman showcase: lauded series “Big Little Lies,” which attracted her for other reasons.
READ MORE: Why Nicole Kidman Is a Full-Fledged Badass, Even Before ‘Big Little Lies’ — Career Watch
“As an actor you are only as good as the opportunities you are given,” Kidman said. “It is why I went and did something like ‘Big Little Lies,’ because I could produce that, find that, and make that happen. But a lot of the times if you are in the position of being asked to do something, you are not in a position of power or control.”
Kidman continued, “I often say, an actor can’t be a control freak. You have to be able to give yourself over to the process and be willing to change and be molded.”
Check out Vanity Fair’s full press conference report right here for more Kidman goodness.
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