Nicole Kidman Credits Director For Making Sure She “Didn’t Feel Exploited” During ‘Babygirl’ Sex Scenes

“I was in the hands of a woman director.”

 Nicole Kidman is seen at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 30, 2024 in Venice, Italy.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Nicole Kidman is opening up about her new movie Babygirl and how the film's director made her feel comfortable during the film's most intimate scenes.

On Friday, Aug. 30, during a press conference held before the film's Venice Film Festival debut, the actress said filming sex scenes for the movie was different thanks to the writer and director, Halina Reijn.

"That's what made it so compelling, was being in the hands of Halina, because I knew she wasn't gonna exploit me," Kidman said at the time. "I mean, however anyone interprets that, I didn't feel exploited. I felt very much a part of it. It's the story that I wanted to be a part of, that I wanted to tell. And every part of me was committed to that."

The actress went on to say that there "was enormous care taken" during the filming process, adding that the cast and crew were "all very, very gentle with each other and helped each other."

In the film, Kidman plays a high-powered CEO who decides to risk her career and her family so she can begin an illicit affair with her younger intern, played by Harris Dickinson.

Nicole Kidman attends a photocall for "Babygirl" during the 81st Venice International Film Festival at on August 30, 2024 in Venice, Italy.

Nicole Kidman attends a photocall for "Babygirl" during the 81st Venice International Film Festival at on August 30, 2024 in Venice, Italy.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

In a previous interview with Vanity Fair, Kidman said starring in the erotic drama made her feel "very exposed as an actor, as a woman, as a human being."

"There’s something in me going, 'Okay, this was made for the big screen and to be seen with people,'” she told the publication at the time. “But then I’m like, 'That’s a high-wire act. I’m not sure I have that much bravery.'

"I’ve made some films that are pretty exposing," she added, "but not like this.”

She went on to say that there were moments in the film when she didn't "want to be touched," adding that at one point she didn't "want to do this anymore."

“But at the same time I was compelled to do it. Halina would hold me and I would hold her, because it was just very confronting to me,” she added. "This is something you do and hide in your home videos. It is not a thing that normally is going to be seen by the world.…I had to go in and go out like, I need to put my protection back on," she continued. "'What have I just done? Where did I go? What did I do?'”

nicole kidman

Nicole Kidman

(Image credit: Getty Images)

During the same Venice Film Festival press conference, Kidman clarified that the film follows "one woman's story," going on to say that she hopes it is a "very liberating story."

"It's told by a woman through her gaze...and that's what, to me, made it so unique," she added. "Suddenly I was gonna be in the hands of a woman with this material."

Danielle Campoamor
Weekend Editor

Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.