Nicole Kidman Was Left With ‘Real Bruises’ After Filming ‘Disturbing’ Scenes

Nicole Kidman has reflected on having a very tough time emotionally and physically while filming two of her projects, “Baby Girl” and “Big Little Lies.”

According to the actress, both projects contained “disturbing” scenes, and it was “really taxing” to go through the emotions required for those scenes.

Nicole Kidman also revealed that she was left with “real bruises” covering her back and body after filming, to the point where her brain would remind her of the pain.

Kidman has once again spoken about how much physical and emotional toll she had to go through filming her new erotic movie “Baby Girl.”

This time, the actress revealed that it was “really taxing going through all of those emotions” while filming some “disturbing” scenes in the movie.

“So you’re putting yourself through the trauma,” Kidman shared during her interview with Zendaya for Variety’s Actors on Actors feature. “On Babygirl, there were parts that are now not in the film that we shot that gave me – it was exhausting, but it was also just emotionally disturbing.”

The Oscar winner also compared the stress of filming “Baby Girl” to that of her other project, “Big Little Lies.”

She further remarked, “The same when I was doing Big Little Lies. That was disturbing to my body and my psyche, because I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. I would have real bruises all over my back and body.”

According to the actress, filming some of the more disturbing scenes became so intense that her mind would signal, “Hold on, you’re hurt.”

As a result of the experience, she had to seek ways to restore herself, occasionally turning to chakra cleansing as part of her recovery process.

She said, “So I’ve done things where they clean my chakras and pray and get out the sage. Honestly, I’ll take whatever so I can step into the next place free, and not scarred or damaged or wounded.”

The actress now understands that despite her deep love for the arts, there is only so far she can go in sacrificing her body for the roles she takes on.

Kidman added, “I’m still learning not to sacrifice my body for the sake of the art, because part of me wants to. Having to value who I am, it’s a journey. But you seem very stable.”

In August, Kidman also discussed the toll that starring in Baby Girl took on her. At the time, she shared that while she enjoyed the role, it ultimately left her feeling “ragged.”

“At some point, I was like, I don’t want to be touched. I don’t want to do this anymore, but at the same time I was compelled to do it,” Kidman shared in an interview with Vanity Fair.

She revealed that she found the movie “very confronting” and would often seek emotional support from its director, Halina Reijn.

Kidman continued to consult the director even after filming, as she had yet to fully accept that her intimate scenes would be open to the public.

She added, “This is something you do and hide in your home videos. It is not a thing that normally is going to be seen by the world. I felt very exposed as an actor, as a woman, as a human being.”

Recently, Kidman shared with The Hollywood Reporter that her role in “Baby Girl” resonated with her from the onset as she saw it as a rare opportunity to portray a sexual woman beyond traditional, age-related stereotypes.

“A lot of times, women are discarded at a certain period of their career as a sexual being. So it was really beautiful to be seen in this way,” Kidman shared.

She added, “From the minute I read it, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is a voice I haven’t seen, this is a place that I haven’t been, I don’t think audiences have been.'”

She went on to express her appreciation for the role’s bold hypersexuality but admitted she was astonished that the showrunners approved it for production.

Kidman continued, “I thought it was incredibly sexy. Really just so raw and dangerous, and I couldn’t believe they were giving us the money to make it.”

In a candid interview for British GQ’s Men of the Year 2024 issue, the actress reflected on how her perspective on life has evolved in her 50s.

While discussing her heightened emotional awareness, Kidman was asked what drives her to feel things intensely.

“Mortality. Connection. Life coming and hitting you,” she replied. “And loss of parents and raising children and marriage and all of the things that go into making you a fully sentient human. I’m in all of those places. So life is, whew.”

Kidman continued: ‘It’s definitely a journey. And it hits you as you get older how – it’s a wake up at 3 am crying and gasping kind of thing. If you’re in it and not numbing yourself to it. And I’m in it. Fully in it.”