Nicole Kidman Explains Her Weirdest Filming Rule While On Sets: "She's A Little Crazy"

Babygirl star Nicole Kidman explains her weirdest filming rule while on-set, and says there’s one director who makes her break it. A five-time Oscar nominee and one-time winner, Kidman is used to appearing in critically acclaimed movies, and often she’s the main reason for the films earning such praise. The star is indeed back in the thick of it this awards season, with her new A24 movie Babygirl already scoring her a Best Actress Golden Globe nomination. The erotic-thriller releases in theaters on December 25, 2024.

It’s hard to question Kidman’s process after so many years and so many awards, but there’s one aspect of her approach that may nevertheless seem odd, and it involves a rule she has about never looking at video playback on-set. Though Kidman is seemingly adamant about this rule, not all directors are keen to let her avoid looking at the monitor, as the star explained in a Variety Actors-on-Actors interview with Zendaya. Kidman gave her reasoning for her no-monitor rule, admitting that it may make her seem odd:

I don’t like to break where I am. It’s almost a trance. If the director’s speaking off camera, I can hear it, but I wouldn’t come out of character — people are like, “She’s a little crazy.” I don’t like the monitor. But someone like Baz Luhrmann loves you to look. If you make me, I will, but my preference is not to.

What This Means For Kidman’s Long-Time Artistic Relationship With Luhrmann

Kidman Had A Smash With Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge!

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Kidman had one of her biggest hits with Luhrmann’s glittery jukebox musical Moulin Rouge!, scoring her first Oscar nomination for the $179-million-grossing movie. She had slightly worse luck with her second Luhrmann collaboration, the poorly-received 2008 epic Australia (which was later reworked into the miniseries Faraway Downs).

Kidman has indeed admitted to having doubts about her ability to pull off the character of Satine in Moulin Rouge!, a role that required her to sing, but she was able to make it work, with Luhrmann’s help. Kidman’s trust in Luhrmann is obviously strong, so it’s no surprise that he’s one director who can make her break her own rule. That Luhrmann is the first director who comes to her mind when discussing her sometimes-odd Method acting ways, and is noted as someone she’ll defer to, only goes to prove how close Kidman is to the Moulin Rouge! auteur.

Kidman seems content to let people think she’s crazy, as long as she keeps her head in the right space, and is able to deliver her performance.

Kidman’s playback-averse behavior indeed extends beyond the set. Back in 2009, Kidman told The Daily Mail she hates watching her own movies, and "squirmed in her seat" while screening Australia. Johnny Depp, Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore and many more Hollywood A-listers have admitted they can't stand watching themselves, so Kidman is not alone.

Our Take On Kidman’s No Monitor Rule

Method Actors Are Known For Their Eccentric Ways

Image via 20th Century Fox

Method actors are well-known for doing oddball things in the name of acting excellence. Sometimes their behaviors can be amusing, as when Peter Weller forced everyone on RoboCop to address him as "Murphy" or "Robo." Sometimes the Method-inclined can get creepy, however, as when Jared Leto prepared to play the Joker by sending his co-stars a dead pig and a live rat. Then there are cases like Jim Carrey on Man in the Moon, where "going Method" just seems like an excuse to be a giant jerk.

Margot Robbie says she kept the rat sent to her by Jared Leto.

Kidman’s process is her process, and it seems she has to really trust a director before she will risk breaking character by checking the playback. Directors indeed are smart to respect Kidman’s approach, given all the acclaimed performances she’s racked up over her career, including her latest in Babygirl. Luhrmann gets a pass due to their relationship, but the rest of the time, Kidman seems content to let people think she’s crazy, as long as she keeps her head in the right space, and is able to deliver another acclaimed performance.

Source: Variety