International star Nicole Kidman tells Al-Mawed: I spend my free time with my children

• I avoid crowded places.
• In shopping malls, I avoid passing by jewelry stores.
• I am very frank
• I love producing and I am continuing on this path.
• I like to celebrate my birthday away from the noise.
• We need to do more to defend women's rights.

The star Nicole Kidman, who is considered one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood, was born in the American islands of Hawaii to an Australian father and mother, with whom she lived in America since her childhood until she settled with her parents in Australia. She officially holds two nationalities, American, as she was born in America, and Australian.

Nicole grew up in Australia where she learned singing and acting, then traveled to Hollywood where she met and married the famous actor Tom Cruise, then divorced him after about ten years. Their divorce in 2001 caused a huge uproar in the newspapers as rumors circulated about their relationships with others which led to the divorce.

The newspapers used to say that Nicole Kidman's fame as an actress was derived from her marriage to the famous actor "Tom Cruise", but time has proven her acting ability and brilliance. She won several international awards after her divorce from "Tom Cruise", and her fame increased as well as her acting salary. In 2006, she was the highest paid actress in Hollywood, earning $27 million (yes, twenty-seven million dollars) per film at the time. The United Nations also honored her and gave her the title of "Citizen of the World" in 2004 for her charitable and social work. It is worth noting that in 2005, she became an ambassador for Etihad Airways.

Among her many charitable works, she focused her attention on children in particular, and helping UNICEF, a United Nations children's aid organization.

On the other hand, Nicole Kidman says about herself that she is shy, but she nevertheless appeared naked in two films and said that the human body is a fine art.

I asked her about the huge impact on her lifestyle, as one of her grandfathers owned large lands in Australia with many cows and animals, then her travels from America to Australia and vice versa, and her marriage to a famous movie star. She said that contrary to what is said about her, she likes to avoid crowds and crowded places. For example, she does not like to enter a restaurant alone, but with another person, and her husband prefers it, and therefore especially if she is invited to a party, she does not like to enter any party alone, but prefers to have someone close to her with her.

When I met her, Nicole Kidman (who is tall) came and she was wearing very high heels which made her look taller, so I asked her about the shoes and if they bothered her when she walked?

She said: “I now wear the shoes I love, as when I was married to Tom Cruise (who is relatively short), I did not wear high-heeled shoes.”

“I asked her how she spends her free time, and she said: ‘If I have free time, I spend it with my children’ (she has four children: an adopted son of African descent, a daughter who is also adopted, and two daughters from her current second marriage to famous Australian singer Keith Urban). ‘We go to the mall and I try to avoid jewelry stores because one of the stores tried to sell one of my daughters earrings and pierced her ears, and I don’t like that, so I try to convince my daughters to wear earrings with clips or clip-ons. ’”

I asked her about her intention to produce films and she said: “Yes, I am heading towards that. In any case, production is not something new for me. I have produced films for several years now, and I am continuing to produce. The last film I produced with others is now being shown. I am also participating in production with my friend, the actress Reese Witherspoon.”

I told her: In your normal life, away from cinema and acting, how do you deal with the audience and their relationship with you and your fame, and does this bother you?

She said: “My husband always tells me that I am not a person who tries to please others because I say exactly what I think even if it does not please the listener with me. This has been the case since I was young, as I was raised on it and inherited it from my parents. I am very frank and do not try to hide my feelings on occasions that may require me to be diplomatic, but this is my nature. However, I am compassionate towards the weak and I love children, and this is evident in my life, my children, and my social efforts.”

I asked her: Other than producing films, are you thinking of directing films?

“The director’s profession is very complex and tiring. It is not only about directing the actors to be creative in acting, but he is also responsible for other aspects of the film, from filming and choosing the appropriate locations for each part of the story to clothing, external areas, and time if the film’s events take place hundreds of years ago, etc. All of this requires a lot of time and effort. As a producer, I like to contact an actress, for example, whom I know, and tell her that there is a role in a novel that suits her perfectly, and if she would like to play this role in the film, or to contact an author and tell him that I really like his book and that it could be a good film, and I contract with him for that. Therefore, I much prefer production over directing.”

I said to her: Very soon it will be your 50th birthday, so how will you celebrate your birthday?

She said: “I get a lot of attention in my daily life so my birthday will be away from the noise and just with my husband and children. We might watch TV, which is the opposite of my children’s birthdays where I invite a lot of children and there are different games and matches. Also, in Australia we rent small “puppies” for the children to play with and that is very entertaining.”

I told her: I know that you defend women and their rights and your efforts with the United Nations, so what is your opinion on films and women’s wages in acting compared to men?

She said that she defends women's rights, as men even in the film market outnumber women by a huge amount, and their wages are small compared to men's wages, and this is not fair at all. Also, in public life, many women are beaten by their husbands or others, and she continued, "I played several roles about abused women, so much so that when I return home after playing some of these roles, I am completely in pain, and sometimes I have bruises from the beating, even though it was just acting, of course, and not real. But there has been progress recently in this area, but it is not enough, and we need more effort in this regard."

Hollywood - George Doss