NICOLE UP CLOSE

Legendary actor, sought-after producer, champion for women, proud wife and mum. Nicole Kidman’s CV is studded with glory, but she insists she’s only just getting started. For our special 25th birthday issue, editor Nicky Briger chats to the homegrown superstar about longevity, love and her latest role

- Nicky Briger

Last year, every Friday night for five months, the 200-strong cast and crew of mini-series Nine Perfect Strangers were gifted surprise treats after a gruelling week of shooting. Food trucks carrying icecream, pizzas and burgers would weave through the picturesque Byron Bay hinterland and park on the lush grounds of Soma retreat (or Tranquillum House, as it’s called in the series), ready to reward exhausted workers. It was a tradition dreamt up by Nicole Kidman, who produces and stars as mysterious healer Masha in the highly anticipated TV drama. “All the key cast would pitch in to pay, but Nicole took the role of gift-giver to a whole other level,” recalls producer Jodi Matterson, whose company, Made Up Stories, worked with Kidman’s Blossom Films to bring the project to life. “Each week, she’d up the ante by giving piccolos of bubbly, boxes of cupcakes, steamed dumplings from food vans. Then on our last day, Nic gave everyone a special goodbye gift with a personal note. I’ve never worked with anyone who’s gone to such extremes to make people feel appreciated, acknowledged and valued. She’s a class act.”

Nicole Kidman’s generosity of spirit is well-known in the local film industry. When US financiers refused to back “an unknown” to play the role of tormented mum Heather in Nine Perfect Strangers, she fiercely championed Asher Keddie (who got the part). She’s pushed hard for Australian female filmmakers and writers to see their work come to fruition and attract global acclaim. And at the start of the pandemic she moved the entire production of Nine Perfect Strangers from California to Byron, offering a financial lifeline when hundreds faced months of zero work.