Nicole Kidman doesn’t overthink her filmography.
Ahead of the actress’ new film Babygirl—which she stars in alongside Harris Dickinson—releasing on Dec. 25, she detailed why she was pulled to work with director Halina Reijin.
“When Halina reached out for Babygirl, I was already going, ‘Okay, just the title alone, I’m in,’” Kidman told Vanity Fair for its Hollywood Issue published Nov. 13. “If I feel freedom and safe with a person, then I can just give them everything.”
But the Big Little Lies actress emphasized all aspects of the project inspired her gut reaction.
“I’ve got to feel arms around the project and me,” she continued, “that allows the expression. So much of what you’re offering is deeply personal. It needs to be held in that regard for it to really work.”
In the erotic thriller, the 57-year-old plays Romy, a CEO who pursues a sexual relationship with an intern, Samuel (Dickinson), putting her career—and family—on the line.
And Kidman—who nabbed Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival in September for the role—also expanded on why she has chosen to work with so many women directors in recent years, explaining that she felt a similar “immediate” yes pull toward her role in Netflix’s The Perfect Couple.
“I’m trying to support all of these women at all different ages, at all different stages in their careers,” the Oscar winner added, “and put my weight behind them and go, ‘I’m here and I’m at your disposal and I’m ready.’”
Director Reijin wasn’t the only one Kidman approached with an open attitude, as Dickinson previously describing his scene partner as “comforting” and “warm."
“She sets the tone on set, and she makes it so easy to be vulnerable and to be funny, because she is so daring,” the 28-year-old explained in a Variety interview published Oct. 23. “She’s so brave, and she does stuff, and you’re like, 'What the f--k is that?' You can’t even think of it.”