Udaipur’s a beautiful place: Nicole Kidman

Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman talks about her experiences of shooting in India and also shares her excitement of being nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars once again.

How was it shooting in India?
I shot a commercial in India a couple of years ago in Udaipur and it was a beautiful place.

You’ve won an Oscar for The Hours and were nominated for Moulin Rouge. How do you feel about being nominated once again for Rabbit Hole? We heard your family was delighted as well…
Yes, Keith (husband Keith Urban) was jumping around the kitchen when they announced my name. And Sunday (daughter Sunday Rose) was like, ‘Why are you crying?’ because I had tears. And we had to explain we were happy! That's my memory of this Oscar; my husband and daughter jumping around the kitchen in delight.

What was it about this film that drew you to the subject?
I'm always interested in films that are about extreme subject matters. This story is about a couple that has lost their six-year-old boy. The ‘lost-a-child’ is a very terrifying place for me to go, and I tend to go creatively in places that terrify me.

This film is your first as a producer…
My theme in most of the films that I make is basically love in different forms. I am interested in people when they are yearning for love, when they are losing love. It's been a long road trying to get the film made. I read the script and loved it. That was more than four years ago. But that's okay. I didn't mind the wait.

What was it like working with directorJohn Mitchell? 
John believed in the film. He also has things in his personal life which I am sure that he has talked about that put him in a place of knowing this material and knowing these emotions. He is also an actor so he understands what it takes to give a performance. It was fantastic.

Aaron Eckhart has given a fantastic performance as well. Tell us about working with him… 
Aaron was always our first choice to play this role. I'd seen him in so many films and I did always want to work with him, so I called him and asked him to be my husband! And when we heard that he read and liked the script, we were like maybe, maybe he will say yes. When he did, we were thrilled.