Nicole Kidman Talks Family, Returning To The Stage & THOSE George Clooney Comments

The actress spoke to Marie Claire at an Omega event in Milan

Nicole Kidman has thrown her A-list heavyweight clout behind friend George Clooney, following comments made by the actor at the Toronto Film Festival where he expressed his desire for traditionally male roles in Hollywood to be rewritten for women.

Speaking to Marie Claire at an Omega event in Milan - where the actress was celebrating her tenth anniversary as the brand’s ambassador - Kidman’s initial response to Clooney’s proposal was, ‘Go, George!’

‘It’s fabulous if that happens, because it doesn’t happen that often, and it is that lateral thinking,’ she continued. ‘There are so many scripts out there; there just aren’t enough male actors to fill them.’

Kidman - who is currently starring in Photograph 51 in London’s West End to much critical acclaim - also opened up about her return to the theatre, 17 years after she wowed London audiences in The Blue Room: ‘It was terrifying. When I said I’d do it, I actually didn’t realise how much fear I would have. 17 years ago I don’t remember having that sort of fear. I think when you’re younger you have that sort of laissez-faire attitude.’

Nicole Kidman pictured at the opening of Omega's new exhibition Her Time at La Triennale

‘It works a whole set of skills and muscles that I forgot about. I hadn’t done a play in 17 years. I knew I wanted to push myself out of my complacency I suppose,’ she said. ‘Once again, this was my mother, because I thought “oh, I can just stay home in Nashville,” and she’s like, “do the play Nicole.” I said, “really? It’s going to be such hard work,” and she said, “do the play!”

However, Kidman admitted that it was the strength of the f emale character at the heart of the play and her familial ties to the world of science which initially drew her to the part: ‘I think I’m just attracted to complicated women, and with Photograph 51, it’s a female playwright, and it’s got a lot of humanity to it. She’s a scientist, my father was a scientist and I love being able to celebrate the sciences right now.’

Kidman’s ten-year Omega anniversary also saw the 48-year-old actress open a new exhibition for the Swiss watch brand at the iconic La Triennale in the Italian fashion capital. Her Time - which will be open for the remainder of this month before moving to New York at the end of the year – is a retrospective of Omega’s history in women’s watch making which dates back to the turn of the last century and sees a number of their archive pieces on display to the public for the first time.

Nicole Kidman wears a dress by Mugler and an Omega watch at the Her Time gala dinner in Milan

The actress, who hosted a lavish party with Omega at Milan’s Palazzo del Ghiaccio, also revealed her thoughts on social media: ‘I’m engaged in it. I feel like you have to be a part of it now. I have four children, so to stay in touch with them it’s very important. I don’t let it rule my life - and I have certain rules in terms of never going online before I go to sleep.’

Kidman also spoke candidly about how she and her singer husband Keith Urban negotiate having to spend time apart in the age of social media, too: ‘My husband and I never text each other. We never do. Once in a blue moon, we’ll text. But mainly we say, “I want to hear your voice.” That’s very unusual but we’ve been together for 10 years. We started like that and we haven’t changed it. We don’t email each other either. So it’s about trying to keep it as intimate and personal as possible.’

For more on what makes Nicole tick, read her interview with Garance Doré on Omega’s newly-launched Time For Her online diary.