Nicole Kidman admitted that she once lost grip of her emotions as a result of being overworked while filming an HBO drama series.
She reflected on the emotional toll she suffered after working long hours on a dark roles, including that of Celeste Wright on “Big Little Lies.” She admitted that she failed to prioritize her personal needs, and wound up experiencing a meltdown. “I threw a rock because [the door] was locked and I couldn’t get in,” Kidman said during a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter’s roundtable.
“I’d never done that in my life,” she said. “I obviously [had a lot] pent up. I broke the whole thing. It cost a fortune,” she added.
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Kidman said playing the dark role of Celeste Write was “very tough on the psyche,” and she recalled telling her co-star Alexander Skarsgard and the director of the drama series, the late Jean-Marc [Vallee] about her emotional episode.
“And then I went back the next day and I said to Alexander [Skarsgard] and Jean-Marc [Vallée], ‘I threw a rock through the window,’ and they were like, ‘Whoa …’ I said, ‘I was kind of pissed off,'” she said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 21: Nicole Kidman attends Prime Video’s “Expats” New York premiere at The Museum of Modern Art on January 21, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by John Nacion/WireImage)
Kidman went on to explain what led to her outburst.
“But there’s a way in which we operate where the show must go on, and so you just keep going — you show up and you do it and do it and do it and do it,,” she said.
“And a lot of times, it’s six months of 12-, 14-hour days and there really isn’t the time to go, ‘I need to take care of myself.'”
Kidman admitted that wasn’t the first time the demands of her job took a toll on her mental health.
“After Expats, I went and did a comedy because I went crazy with my own psychology. I was like, ‘This is unhealthy,'” she said.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 27: Nicole Kidman attends the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute Celebrating Nicole Kidman at Dolby Theatre on April 27, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
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The famous actress noted that workplace stress isn’t being discussed and resolved as well as it could be.
“And it’s something that I think we need to talk about as actors – protecting your body so that you can live for as long as you are given on this earth,” she said
“Because it’s very tough on the psyche.” (RELATED: ‘Shake And Laugh’: Nicole Kidman Admits To Having Bizarre Response To Discovering Her Father’s Dead Body)
Kidman went on to say, “the idea of being able to go and get a massage or a hot bath or even a pat on the back, just someone touching you and going, ‘It’s OK.'”
