Nicole Kidman Offers Up Rare Comment About Working with Ex-Husband Tom Cruise
When Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were wed in 1990, it seemed like a marriage made in Hollywood heaven—so fans have speculated about what led to their divorce ever since the pair split in 2001. Neither star has been particularly forthcoming about their relationship in the following years, but Kidman, 57, recently opened up about what it was like filming the late Stanley Kubrick's 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut with her ex-husband.
As Kidman told the Los Angeles Times, Kubrick drew upon the couple's real-life dynamic for the movie, a tale of "sexual jealousy and obsession" in a marriage.
"I suppose he was mining it," said Kidman.
"There were ideas he was interested in. He’d ask a lot of questions. But he had a strong sense of the story he was telling. I do remember him saying, 'Triangles are hard. You have to tread carefully when it’s a triangle.' Because one person could feel ganged up on. But he was aware of that and knew how to manage us."
Kidman went on to explain that her gender influenced the way the legendary director interacted with her, as opposed to Cruise.
"But there’s something about being a woman in that equation, too. And Stanley liked women. He had a different relationship with Tom. They worked more closely together on his character," she said.
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While Eyes Wide Shut was meant to be a six-month shoot, the movie ended up taking two years to film. Kidman said she "would've stayed a third year," asking, "Does that mean I'm crazy?"
In 2020, Kidman told the New York Times that she and Cruise were "happily married" while making the movie, even though it was an intense process.
"We would go go-kart racing after those scenes. We'd rent out a place and go racing at 3 in the morning. I don't know what else to say. Maybe I don't have the ability to look back and dissect it. Or I'm not willing to," the actress said.
Kidman shares children Isabella, 31, and Connor, 29, with Cruise. She also has two daughters, Sunday, 15, and Faith, 13, with husband Keith Urban.
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