Nicole Kidman confessed which feature film she would prefer not to have shot with her ex-partner and gave her reasons.
Nicole Kidman and her ex-husband, Tom Cruise, have worked together on successful projects. But there was one film in particular that starred the couple that the Australian actress felt she would have been better off avoiding.
Kidman and Cruise were used to collaborating on film projects. The two met for the first time in the feature film Days of Thunder (1990), where Kidman played a doctor who falls in love with a racing driver. It was during that filming that the actors met. "My first reaction upon meeting was pure lust," Cruise said. "She was totally physical."
The two got married just a year after their first movie and ended up starring in a few more projects together during their long marriage. His second film was A Far Horizon (1992), by Ron Howard. In it, the two were able to tap into their true chemistry for the romantic drama. But later she thought that shooting the feature film with her ex-husband had not been her best decision.
"In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have made a movie with him so quickly," Kidman opened up. "I probably should have done more on my own to be seen independently," she said, adding "We were in a bubble. Just the two of us. We became very dependent on each other."
Cruise's star power also affected her career. Kidman believed that her identity as an actress was closely tied to her partner. But she felt this change when she starred in the Gus Van Sant-directed feature, All for a Dream. Other projects followed in which Kidman finally saw her creative needs met.
After establishing herself as an actress, Kidman and Cruise reunited on screen for Stanley Kubrick's film, Eyes Wide Shut (1995). The film is centered on a married couple trying to improve their S- life for the sake of their relationship. But there was a scene where the couple were arguing about cheating on their marriage, and Kidman burst out laughing during the take.
"I was hysterical," she said. "We shot that scene over three weeks. I think Stanley did 300 takes. It was a grueling project, but in the end, we all felt like we'd accomplished something special. I know the critics think the movie is dark, but I think there's hope. ". Stanley stressed the importance of loyalty and commitment in a marriage, that marriage is a relationship that has to transcend S-."
Nicole Kidman felt that she only became a star thanks to Tom Cruise
Kidman's marriage to Cruise lasted from 1990 to 2001. At the time, the actress was a bit shocked by the breakup. "I thought our life together was perfect," she said.
Kidman confessed that it took her a while to recover from the divorce. In retrospect, however, she recalled that she felt that much of her star power depended on her relationship with Cruise. So much so that she did not always feel that she belonged in the same group as her contemporaries in the film industry.
"I felt that I had become a star only by association. I didn't think [my early films] were very good, so I always hid in the background," she once said. "I thought he didn't deserve to be here. We were going to the Oscars and I was like, 'I'm here to support him.'"
But after the divorce, Kidman's career continued to thrive. She starred in critically acclaimed projects like The Hours, where she won an Oscar for Best Actress. And she finally found her love again with her current husband, Keith Urban.
