Thursday
Jun202019
Today's birthday suit: Nicole Kidman
Thursday, June 20, 2019 at 8:00AM 
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Happy 52nd to our beloved Nicole Kidman! Still as sexy and daring onscreen today as she was when we first "met" her at the movies...
Dead Calm (1989)
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
Reader Comments (14)
Happy Birthday, Nicole! Love you! :)
yes, bmx bandits was non-stop sex and danger!
Can we discuss how she surpassed Tom Cruise as a cultural entity in cinema? Not an easy feat considering how she was seen before To Die For (1995).
That's an, hmm, interesting way to celebrate her birthday.
Happy Birthday Nicole!!
Her Eyes Wide Shut performance gets better and better each viewing, specially vs a wooden Tom Cruise. Cruise + Kidman, what a time
I actually dig the dichotomy of the performances in Eyes Wide Shut. This dude can't manage to get off at an orgy, but he has this wife who's solution to all of their marital woes is quite simply to "Fuck." Cruise's work here is all internal conflict, masked by obvious good looks and limited frat daddy charm. He's exactly what the role needs and I think he's pretty great, but it's not as showy as Kidman's role. She shows up about every 30 minutes drunk, high, sleepy, or naked (maybe all of the above) to jolt us out of the waking dream, and she's on fire. Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY you strange, beautiful, character actress that's still somehow a genuine movie star.
Nicole's placings on my own ballots over the years -
1995 - To Die For - Leading - Nominee (3rd)
2001 - The Others - Leading - Nominee (5th)
2003 - Dogville - Leading - Nominee (2nd)
2004 - Birth - Leading - Nominee (2nd)
2007 - Margot At The Wedding - Leading - Nominee (5th)
2008 - Australia - Leading - Nominee (5th)
2017 - The Killing Of A Sacred Deer - Supporting - Top 10 (7th)
With honorable mentions to -
Eyes Wide Shut, The Paperboy, Stoker
Still to see -
Destroyer
1) Her Oscar nominations really don't reflect her best work, by a long shot
2) One of the most consistent performers of all time, with great taste in directors and films (SIX nominations from me yet no wins) - she's owes us nothing at this point yet I still feel like she's in full flow... how many more amazing performances are yet to come in this marvellous career?
Wow, if Nicole Kidman in Birth didn’t grab your #1 spot in its year, what on earth did? Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?
She’s certainly one for the all-time list (Moulin Rouge! and even Rabbit Hole included). Happy Birthday, birthday-suited queen!
It's hard to compare Tom and Nicole because he's a phenomenal entertainer and she's a phenomenal artist. So artistically, she was always ahead of him and always destined to run up the score. I'm sure she's fine with the ways her career will never compare to his, in terms of money and popular cinematic classics. By the same token he doesn't seem interested in stretching as an actor these days.
One of the things that makes Eyes Wide Shut so fascinating is that he's dabbling in her element, versus previous collaborations where she was dabbling in his. She seems so at home in that world and his discomfort helps drive the plot.
Mareko - it's actually Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake - Nicole would have been my winner in ANY other year that decade!
I love Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind but she doesn't make my Top 10... 2004 was such a strong, strong year for Leading Actress...
Ah Nicole... still looking good. And I'm still waiting for her and Naomi Watts to do a buddy comedy.
I'm one of the old fans even from the time when she was married to Tom Cruise (there are older than me from her pre-marriage age) and I always thought the marriage was in the way of her career. I've always liked Tom and still do and I'm glad to see them with such a long career. I'd love to see her with a new Oscar - it's about time, Academy!
What a talent. I'd love to see her in another role that shows off her comedic talents. Preferably a dark comedy.
This is ill and creepy.