Nicole Kidman stays employed because it keeps everyone else employed

There are few stars of Nicole Kidman’s caliber working with the frequency that she does. In 2024 alone, she’s put out three movies and three television shows. Kidman clearly loves the grind, but her prolific output isn’t coming from a place of passion alone. She tells Variety that “in this weird way there are so many opportunities in terms of being able to be of service to the people who are coming up, and using what I have and can do for people like [Babygirl writer and director] Helena [Reijn].” 

In 2017, Kidman famously made a pledge to work with a female director every 18 months, “Because that’s the only way statistics will change when other women start to go, ‘Oh, I’m actually going to choose only a woman now,'” she explained at the time. Kidman’s co-sign on an up-and-coming director (female or otherwise) is powerful enough to get a movie a green light. And not only is she boosting the vision of the filmmaker, but her involvement creates job opportunities for hundreds of other cast and crew members. (We saw the inverse of this when Joaquin Phoenix bailed on Todd Haynes’ movie, and apparently left a crew unemployed and stranded in Mexico.) 

That responsibility is a lot to take on for any one person. But “It’s very hard for me to go, ‘Okay, I’m just going to take care of myself,’ because I’m so much about taking care of other people,” Kidman admits to Variety. “I’m thinking, ‘I can create more work for people. I can create jobs for people.’ And also, I love it. I have the passion. I’ve just got to take care of my body. I wish I had superpowers because I would love to be everywhere.”

Kidman sounds content to keep grinding because she knows she’s living the dream. Plus, she does know how to take care of herself, helpfully sharing, “I slept nine hours last night.” That’s the kind of sleep you get when you’re perhaps the greatest film actor of a generation and one of Hollywood’s biggest job creators.