Nicole Kidman has definitely stepped out of her comfort zone in her role in controversial new film The Paperboy, participating in risqué sex scenes and posing nearly nude to promote the film, but she drew the line at using the ‘N’ word.
The 45-year-old actress and mother enthusiastically accepted the role of a trashy, bleach-blonde woman in the dark film set in the 1960s, but she did request that racial slurs be removed from the script out of respect for her adopted African American son, Connor.
“I just didn’t feel it was right for the character,” she explained.
“I have a son who is African American. I just didn’t feel like it was right. What I try to do as an actor is fulfil a director’s vision. I have opinions, but at the same time I’m not there to stop him from anything. I’ve really tried to do that in every film. I never want to pull them off their vision.”
Director Lee Daniels revealed he welcomed Kidman’s request, excusing her from using the offensive word after she had been so willing to cooperate in other controversial scenes.
“I asked her to use the ‘N’ word,” Daniels said in a press conference.
“I could feel the racial tension was there in the town. She said, ‘I won’t do it’. I told my producer, then he mapped it out — ‘Lee, day one she is on a washing machine, day two she is urinating on (co-star) Zac Efron, day three she’s having telepathic sex… I think you can forgive her.”
Wife to Keith Urban and mother of adopted children Isabella, Connor, and daughters Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret, Nicole has her hands full with family, but has revealed she wants to take on more challenging roles in the future.
“I just wanted to push myself to do something I haven’t done before. I want to feel challenged, ripped open, to bring discomfort to myself and it’s really hard to find those roles and people who will do it with you,” she said.
“But at this point in my life I don’t want to be scared. I’m going to push through.”
Nicole is currently in Nice, France filming a Grace Kelly biopic.
