This week, Nicole Kidman broke the Internet. Well, she broke Film Twitter. Okay, she broke the phones of everyone with a Letterboxd account—but still, it was major. On Monday, the esteemed actress posted photos of herself from a new photoshoot in Perfect magazine, sporting a chopped-up red wig and flexing in couture.
Kidmaniacs around the world rejoiced, and for good reason. It was another major win for us, stans of one of the most compelling and consistently brilliant actors working today. But we could also tell you that this was just another day in the life of Nicky Kid, an artist who has been making fascinating and surprising choices for her entire career.
To my shock and awe, not everyone on the internet has the same opinion. Imagine!
On Tuesday, POPSUGAR tweeted that Kidman’s hairstyle was an “uncharacteristically edgy” move for the star, which is just simply untrue. Nicole Kidman’s whole oeuvre is edge.
We here at the Daily Beast’s Obsessed have unpacked two WTF Nicole Kidman moments that have appeared onscreen in just the last five months alone, let alone her entire filmography, which is filled with big, bold swings. It’s time to remember that Nicole Kidman is far from just the lady in the remarkable AMC ad and put a whole heap of respect on her name.
Take To Die For, one of the roles that exploded Kidman as one to watch early in her career. In the film, she plays a ruthless aspiring news anchor who will do anything to get what she wants, including seducing a local high schooler to kill for her. Or perhaps Dogville, a Lars Von Trier arthouse film where Nicole Kidman is seemingly on the run from a band of people who want her dead. Or maybe Birth, which should be revered as one of the best films of all time, where Nicole Kidman plays a woman who believes her dead husband has been reincarnated as a young child seeking her out.
Take your pick! A grieving mother in Rabbit Hole; an addict rogue cop in Destroyer; a beleaguered, horny doctor’s wife in Eyes Wide Shut. Hell, Nicole Kidman straight-up trying to kill Paddington, the fuzzy, marmalade-loving bear that everyone adores. That’s edgy!
While Kidman’s iconic AMC advertisement has certainly endeared (or maybe even annoyed) a sizeable chunk of the American population who have been made to hear talk about heartbreak feeling good in a place where you just paid $29 for popcorn and soda, it doesn’t mean that we can forget about what got her there.
This woman is not just a movie star, she’s a risk-taker! She has five Oscar nominations, one win, and a thousand snubs. She’s not some buttoned-up stuffy actor, and she is not just “the lady from the AMC ad”! It’s time that everyone remembered that.
Nicole Kidman has always been edgy, and that’s one of the best things about her. She’s a reminder that the greatest talents are multifaceted wonders, constantly surprising us at every turn. There’s no telling what Nicole Kidman may do, wear, say, or promote next. And thank god for that.
