How Nicole took control and became TV’S biggest star
DECEMBER 2020 saw the world hold its breath for the final episode of HBO thriller The Undoing. Nicole Kidman, dressed in a divisive green coat and crowned with her trademark red curls, played a New York therapist rocked when her husband (Hugh Grant) is accused of the murder of a young woman. A ratings hit that caused a social media storm, The Undoing followed Nicole’s stellar TV work in two series of Big Little Lies and The Top Of The Lake, which saw her collaborate with acclaimed director Jane Campion. But despite these previous successes, a lot was riding on this new show. Without the support system of large, female ensembles, the focus – and pressure – was firmly on her as star and executive producer. She more than delivered.
It has been almost 18 years since Nicole took to the podium at the Oscars to collect her Best Actress award for The Hours. Since then, she has worked steadily but has also had to fight to remain relevant in an industry that has traditionally struggled to cater to women over the age of 35. Her survival tactics, however, have seen her thrive. She is one of the biggest success stories in the history of shifting from the big to small screen, in large part thanks to her decision to produce TV as well as act in it.
‘We were on the beginning of that wave, with streaming and television opening up,’ Nicole, 53, said in a recent interview. ‘Top Of The Lake and Big Little Lies were the beginning of that shift for women in television. Shepherding something as a producer is an enormous amount of work,’ she explained. ‘It really requires tender care, passionately believing in the material and being true to the people who are making it.’
Whereas many actors receive production credits as something of a vanity title, Nicole is hands-on. She was personally responsible for casting Hugh Grant in The Undoing – ‘Hugh needed convincing!’ she has said
– and pursued women directors as part of her mission to back female-led projects.
The show’s huge success is validation after years of toil. Nicole has long been interested in the work behind the camera – she has produced a handful of films since 2003, including drama Rabbit Hole and teen comedy Monte Carlo – but she stepped into the big league with the help of her Big Little Lies co-star Reese Witherspoon. The pair, a source says, were not close friends before their decision to collaborate as producers on the project. ‘It was a leap of faith. But teaming up two major stars made the show a must-watch.’ She is, the source adds, ‘so, so proud’ to be taken seriously as a producer after so many years. ‘When she first came to Hollywood, her relationship with Tom Cruise meant that many of her peers didn’t take her seriously. But project by project, she proved everybody wrong.’ She does take some pleasure in that, says the source, but has her eyes on the future rather than the past. ‘This new chapter of TV producing shows that Nicole isn’t going anywhere.’
The only way is up, then, but her path remains firmly in TV. Nicole’s next project – as both producer and actor – is miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers, starring Melissa Mccarthy and Luke Evans, followed by Hong Kong-set six-parter The Expatriates. As with her decision to partner with Reese for Big Little Lies, her choices are about instinct.
‘If I feel it, then I can go into it,’ she told Deadline recently. ‘That means you pass on some projects. But I can’t make myself do something that I don’t believe in.’