NICOLE KIDMAN
Blockbuster Actress Turned TV Goddess
Nicole Kidman has been gracing the big screen with her presence since the mid-’80s. But from 1990 to 2017, she did zero TV performances. Fast forward to the second season of Top of the Lake, where she acted alongside Elisabeth Moss and Gwendoline Christie. Since then, she’s been taking TV roles more frequently. Why is that? She believes high-quality parts are being made for women on TV now and there are fewer in film.
“I think in television right now, there’s great opportunity for women because it’s a place in which there is money and directors of this caliber who are willing to work in that medium and write and explore their storytelling,” Kidman told The Hollywood Reporter. “I think there’s an enormous appeal for actors working there because you have time to develop a character and for stories to unfold. Like Big Little Lies, where there was five amazing roles for women. That’s where obviously the great roles are being developed for women right now.”
And Kidman plays one of the most poised, complex characters on Big Little Lies with Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Zoe Kravitz and Shailene Woodley. Kidman’s Celeste portrays the Monterey Five mother elegantly and she’s unafraid to put the character’s flaws on full display. Troubled by the trauma of her marriage, Celeste turns to over-the-counter pills, sex and questionable actions that show the fragility of humans. But she also highlights the strength of women and how fierce they are in their lioness-like pride.
Big Little Lies undoubtedly led to her next project, The Undoing, which will also air on HBO. The project comes from Big Little Lies writer David E. Kelley who has also tapped Bird Box director Susan Bier. The psychological thriller puts Kidman in the lead role of Grace Sachs, a mother and wife at the center of a murder investigation. The limited-series features six episodes of a gripping plot. The supporting cast is stellar, with Hugh Grant, Lily Rabe and Donald Sutherland appearing too.
But that’s not all Kidman has in store for us in terms of television. Kelley and Kidman will join forces to adapt yet another Liane Moriarty novel, Nine Perfect Strangers. The Hulu series will follow nine people who partake in a mind and body retreat at Tranquillum House. The cast boasts an impressive lineup with Tiffany Boone, Samara Weaving, Melissa McCarthy, Luke Evans, Regina Hall, Michael Shannon and others.
We feel deprived of the many TV roles Kidman could have taken but we’re happy she is choosing more TV roles now. PROVOKR can’t wait to see what else she has in store for fans.
