Nicole Kidman says traumatic scenes can affect actors personally.

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman

The 'Big Little Lies' star admits it is tough acting out roles where the character goes through a difficult time as it has an effect on her own mind too.

Speaking at the Toronto International Film Festival press conference for 'The Goldfinch', she said: "A lot of times when you're acting scenes that are very traumatic, your body doesn't know the difference ... You take it on and you become that, and so much of it is then trying to shed that. It's something that I'm exploring, just as an actor with other actors right now, because how do you keep a lifetime of doing these sort of things - because it's so important to be telling these stories - but how do you actually stay healthy yourself, so that you can keep giving?"

Meanwhile, Nicole had previously confessed she wasn't getting the roles she wanted so she "made opportunities" for herself.

She said: "That was the great thing about reading something like Big Little Lies and going, 'We can get this made.' And I have to say for [Reese Witherspoon] and I to have taken that from nothing and all the way to here, we both said, 'We weren't getting the opportunities of great roles.' I mean, sometimes every now and then, but I think now, particularly for women, we're in a position where if it's not happening, you've got to make it happen for you.

"You've got to make opportunities for yourself and your friends. And that's pretty much what Big Little Lies was. It was building opportunities for ourselves and our friends, and it just happened to become what it became, but that was because there was an enormous amount of passion behind it as well and optimism, actually."

And Nicole revealed she approaches her acting career like she's 21-years-old again.

She said recently: "I'm at that place in my life where I try to act as though I'm 21 and starting my career. At this stage in my life, I'm trying to stay bold and open and try things and support filmmakers that I believe in."


Tagged in