LOS ANGELES – OCTOBER 5, 2105 — (UPI) — An intimate interview between producer Lee Daniels and actress Nicole Kidman revealed the latter star may appear on a future episode of Empire.
Talking over the phone in a conversation published in Interview Magazine this week, Daniels, who worked with the Australian actress for The Paperboy in 2012, expressed his admiration for Kidman, saying “Of course, I want you on my set.”
“You promised me I would be there one day,” Kidman replied, later saying it would depend on the amount of time she would be given to dedicate herself to the role. The actress is currently working in London’s West End in Photograph 51, a theater production about female scientist Rosalind Franklin.
“Something like doing Empire is more to do with whether I can devote the amount of time I need to,” she said, recounting how she instead jumped into her role in Paperboy. “I can’t pop in and pop out. I wouldn’t get there emotionally.”
Daniels drenched his friend in compliments and explained why he is “in love” with Kidman.
“Here’s the thing, when you find a rare breed, like yourself, like Taraji [P. Henson], likeHalle Berry…You don’t play around. You take this craft very seriously.”
“If I’m not in love with you, and if I don’t want to make love to you, then I’m not interested in working with you,” Daniels explained later in the exchange. “You have to want to [expletive] every male, female, whatever it is that you work with. I know that sounds sort of vile, but it’s the truth…I just can’t wait to jump into bed with you again.”
“I’ll jump into anything with you,” Kidman replied.
The two also discussed the abstract details and knowledge needed to succeed in acting, including how Kidman protects her colleagues from “devastating” humiliation. Daniels mentioned a love scene involving actor John Cusack where Kidman was bruised by the scene’s violent nature.
“I also want to protect the other actor,” she explained, “because he’s finding it and doing it. I want him to feel free. Actors have to protect each other in a way. The idea of humiliating another actor or being humiliated myself is devastating.”
The once-child actress went on to describe how she entered the entertainment industry. Having sensitive skin, Kidman’s mother kept her indoors with plenty of books to read. “I read most of the Russians: Dostoevsky, Tolstoy. I had a reading list. Classic novels: French, Russian, English. And I just slowly crossed them off the list. Around that time is when my imagination was piqued. I found the joy of becoming a character through those novels.”
Kidman will appear in a small role in Genius, a film following the life of legendary editor Maxwell Perkins, alongside Colin Firth and Jude Law, set to hit theaters this year. The film prevented the actress from appearing on Empire, but she and Daniels agreed they will “play” together soon.
