Nicole Kidman Wanted to Make ‘Babygirl’ to Push Against Being ‘Discarded’ as a ‘Sexual Being’

Feeling naughty? Nicole Kidman sure is and she wants you to know it. In her upcoming film, “Babygirl,” from writer/director Halina Reijn, the Aussie actress bares all as a relentless CEO caught in a spicy tryst with her much younger intern (Harris Dickinson). Her performance earned her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and is garnering her major awards buzz, but for Kidman, playing this role was about earning a different kind of recognition.

“A lot of times women are discarded at a certain period of their career as a sexual being. So it was really beautiful to be seen in this way,” Kidman said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “From the minute I read it, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is a voice I haven’t seen, this is a place that I haven’t been, I don’t think audiences have been.'”

Despite being in a position of power, having a loving husband (Antonio Banderas), and living a life many would envy, something is missing for Kidman’s character in “Babygirl” that can only be filled by being dominated by her 20-something subordinate. In exploring this thorny dynamic, Kidman found the internal experience incredibly relatable.

“There are many women who are going, ‘Well, I’ve done this, I’ve got children, I’ve got this husband, and what do I actually want? Who am I and what are my desires? Do I have to pretend to be something else for people to love me?’ I think it’s very releasing, this film,” said Kidman. “I hope it is. I’ve had some people say it’s the most disturbing film they’ve ever seen, which I’m like, ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry.'”

Embracing her sensuality throughout the film, Kidman is seen offering multiple orgasms, some to her husband and many to her lover, but there’s a marked difference between the two that made for an interesting performance challenge. While her passion for her husband is tame, her screams for Dickinson’s character are bestial and overwhelming.

“Those ones may not look pretty or sound pretty. Or be what we think is pretty. Halina has always wanted to do something like this. That’s probably why we constantly say we need women in all areas of filmmaking, telling different stories,” Kidman said to THR. “It’s not just to be more fair. It’s actually because it’s kind of fascinating. And for people to feel, ‘I can be who I am.’ I want people to go see this in the cinema, not just clicking on this at home, secretly, watching it in their own little secret way. There’s something extraordinary about seeing it with a group of people.”

A24 releases “Babygirl” in theaters on December 25.