Actors putting themselves through physical changes and turmoil for a film role is nothing new, and Nicole Kidman is the latest A-Lister to change her body for a film role.
The 'Moulin Rogue' and 'Eyes Wide Shut' star is playing television star Lucille Ball in the new Aaron Sorkin film 'Being The Ricardos' and sought to nail Ball's distinctive deep voice.
The Australian took up smoking to help lower her voice for the role, she revealed in an interview with DuJour.
"This is impossible. I’m Australian. How am I going to get this?" she said to her dialogue coach Tom Jones.
He said, ‘We’re going to get there."
"They decided her Lucy needed to have a “deep smoker’s voice, so I started smoking. If I warm up for a minute, I now can do her voice standing on my head.”
In the interview, Kidman paid tribute to comedy stars such as Mary Tyler Moore and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
"It’s crazy hard. I never really understood how hard it was. You look at Julia Louis-Dreyfus. You look at Mary Tyler Moore. They’re bold. They’re willing to not hear a laugh."
Kidman discussed her previous roles in the interview, including her Oscar-winning portrayal of Virginia Woolf in 'The Hours'.
She said her initial voice for Virginia Woolf was "absolutely dreadful,”, with director Stephen Daldry saying "I so don’t want that. You’re not going to do that."
"Directors say ‘no,’ if they’re truthful," she added.
Kidman recalled working with Stanley Kubrick with then-husband Tom Cruise on 'Eyes Wide Shut'.
Kubrick, known for being demanding and requiring dozens of takes of scenes, would ask "What was that?” “over and over" according to Kidman.
Most recently seen on our screens in 'Nine Perfect Strangers', Kidman said she "stayed in character" on the set of the show as well.
"I'd only respond as Masha. I wanted a very calm healing energy to emanate all the time so I remember going over to people and sort of putting my hand on their heart, holding their hand, they would talk to me or use my name Nicole when I would completely ignore them," she said in August.
Kidman will next be seen on our screens in 'The Northman', the newest film from 'The Lighthouse' director Robert Eggers.
