By Nayria Figueroa Colon
Australian actor Nicole Kidman has had an extensive career in Hollywood. Her career had its ups and downs, as well as many accomplishments. She is still making a lasting impact on the movie industry.
Kidman’s choice of movie genres has made her into a “chameleon,” as she has displayed an extensive filmography of movies and TV shows. Her diverse range of films brought her many accomplishments, including the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2002. She is now intensely taking any project that comes her way, as she has released two projects so far this year, with an A24 film coming out in December titled Babygirl.
Kidman, born June 20, 1967, in Honolulu, Hawaii, is known for her wide range and cool demeanor. Kidman was raised in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Kidman’s early acting career started in elementary school, as she was in a pageant. Her career later expanded with her role as the female lead actor in Dead Calm (1989). She then was in the movie Days of Thunder (1990), in which she started a relationship with, and later married, Tom Cruise (divorced in 2001). She later starred in many films where her name has been stamped in the Hollywood industry.
“When comparing Kidman’s acting style, you could tell she is a very diverse actor,” said Kenady Pulvino, a junior at The University of Tampa. “This is seen in all movies Kidman stars in. All of her films are drastically different, and you can see Kidman adjust her acting to any role that she portrays.”
Kidman’s most popular roles came from musicals and adapted screenplays. Moulin Rouge! (2001) is one of the actor’s musicals in her filmography; the other is The Prom (2020). Moulin Rouge! displays a love affair of a nightclub dancer and a poor wannabe poet. The movie showcases colorful stage decorations, musically entailed composers, and out-of-this-world costumes. Kidman displays a breathtaking performance beside her co-star, Ewan McGregor.
“Kidman’s performance in Moulin Rouge! is very emotional,” said freshman Olivia Levine. “She displays vulnerability and strength in her portrayal of Satine. It is also a very exhilarating, brilliant, and ‘fun’ movie to watch.”
Kidman is able to take every role and make it her own. She is able to blend into every role and become the character she is trying to portray. In a 2001 issue of Interview magazine, Kidman describes her feelings towards Moulin Rouge!, “I was begging for it! I was so sick of playing the serious sort of roles.”
While Kidman wanted to veer away from the “serious roles,” she soon picked up a role in the movie The Hours (2002) in which she portrays Virginia Woolf. The movie is inspired by the 1925 work of Woolf, Mrs Dalloway. The movie is based on three women who were living in different time periods and were all experiencing a sense of not living or someone who had a thought of not living anymore. The movie is very emotional as well as depressive in some scenes. Though Kidman’s character was depressed throughout the movie, she later releases her emotions closer to the end of the movie and commits suicide in a river.
Kidman’s recent works include the movie A Family Affair and the Netflix series The Perfect Couple. Both are very different, and Kidman portrayed very different characters as her role in A Family Affair was a mother who has a love affair with her daughter’s boss, who is a much younger man.
“Her brilliant acting creates the unreal chemistry that there is between her and her co-star Zac Efron,” said freshman Daniella Rodriguez. “Also, she is so elegant, and it makes the audience root for her in the end to have her happily ever after.”
The movie is the perfect “feel good” movie that gives both actors a chance to be able to be in the spotlight and they do it in a very raw way.
The Perfect Couple is a murder mystery where Kidman portrays a mysterious mother and wife going through a roller coaster of emotions with all the events that are ensuing. She is a very hard-to-read character as she is also very serious.
Kidman displayed throughout her career that she is an actor of high ground and ability. She is defining what it means to be a “Hollywood movie star!” Her diversity in genres, her portrayal of characters, and her ability to blend into any role stamps her into the industry. Her filmography is something that everyone has to watch firsthand to experience the unearthly aspects that Kidman brings to the movie industry.
The Perfect Couple and A Family Affair are on Netflix now!