Nicole Kidman’s new film Babygirl is so sexually X-rated even she’s afraid to watch it, in what the actor calls her most exposing work to date.
The Australian actor, 57, will likely be hiding behind her seat when Babygirl premiere’s at Venice Film Festival next week, as she’s not sure she’ll have the ‘bravery’ to endure it.
That’s because the erotic thriller, directed by Halina Reijn (Bodies Bodies Bodies), is her most risqué work to date.
Babygirl – also written by Reijn with the Moulin Rouge actor mind – follows Romy (Kidman), a high powered New York business executive who gets into a very steamy affair with the company’s new intern (Harris Dickinson).
So steamy, in fact, that Kidman is almost dreading the film’s release.
‘There’s something in me going, Okay, this was made for the big screen and to be seen with people,’ she told Vanity Fair. ‘But then I’m like, That’s a high-wire act. I’m not sure I have that much bravery.’
‘I’ve made some films that are pretty exposing, but not like this.’
Reijn admitted that if they’ve succeeded in one thing it’s that they made ‘a really hot movie’ which she also dubbed an ‘X-ray’ of kink.
Babygirl shows a scene where Romy masturbates alone after having sex with her husband, and Kidman admitted some of the takes were ‘something you do and hide in your home videos’ and ‘not a thing that normally is going to be seen by the world’.
‘I felt very exposed as an actor, as a woman, as a human being,’ she added. ‘I had to go in and go out like, I need to put my protection back on. What have I just done? Where did I go? What did I do?’
While creating the film Kidman and Reijn would meet in New York and talk about some of their own raw life experiences, while examining the scenes and revising them.
The sex scenes are said to be ‘radically long’ and the actors worked with intimacy coordinators who basically choreographed every twist, turn, pleasure and discomfort point.
Kidman admitted the filming process left her ‘ragged’ and thinking ‘I don’t want to be touched’ but admitted that ‘at the same time [she] was compelled to do it’.
The actor concluded that it’s important for films to shine a light on topics society is afraid of talking about, especially when the world is so polarised.
Sophie Wilde, Antonio Banderas, and Jean Reno star alongside Kidman in the film.
As one of the few A-list celebrities willing to do sex scenes and nudity if they serve a story, Kidman previously discussed the topic with Harper’s Bazaar.
‘I’m not willing to just do it willy-nilly,’ the Oscar winner told the publication, referencing her inclination to do sex scenes for projects.
‘But if there’s a reason for it … I’ve always said that [sex] is a very important connection between human beings. Why would you not depict it onscreen?’
Babygirl will be released on December 20 in the UK after its Venice premiere next week.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.