6 Best performances of Nicole Kidman you need to watch right away

Nicole Kidman is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant actresses currently working in both Hollywood films and television.

She has been nominated for four Academy Awards, including a win for 2002’s The Hours. She has also earned 10 Golden Globe film nominations including three wins for To Die For, Moulin Rouge! and The Hours. She has also been nominated for nine Screen Actors Guild Awards for movies and most recently, she just had an awards sweep at the 2017 Emmys, Globes and SAG for her work on the first season of the TV show, Big Little Lies. In 2020, The New York Times ranked her fifth on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century.

As an appreciation for her work, we decided to take a look at Nicole’s six best performances that you can watch online now...

Birth (2004)

Nicole Kidman’s performance prowess can be seen in a two-minute, unbroken close-up of her face in Birth, after her character learns that her dead husband has been reincarnated in the body of a 10-year-old boy. Her acting as she cycles through horror, devastation, slight joy and then confused resolve, is breathtaking. Birth would be all it takes to explain why the actress has been named one of the best actors in Hollywood.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Eyes Wide Shut features Nicole and her then-husband Tom Cruise portraying a married couple with a broken relationship. Even though the actress has a smaller role, her presence is felt throughout the film. Her standout monologue, in which she recalls her near-fling with a young naval officer, is one of the best moments of the film.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

This is one of the movies that elevated Nicole from a beautiful actress to a lady superstar. She has often spoken about loving the experience of filming this Baz Luhrmann musical more than anything she has worked in. Moulin Rouge is Nicole’s most natural performance till date. As a glitzy, broad and ultimately tragic Moulin Rouge showgirl, she radiates glamour and majesty.

The Hours (2002)

The story of The Hours is about how the novel "Mrs. Dalloway" affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have had to deal with suicide in their lives. Nicole Kidman did an excellent job in portraying Virginia Woolf in the film. Her character was curt, bereft and numb with depression. The actor’s performance in The Hours earned her the Oscar for Best Actress in 2003.

Margot at the Wedding (2007)

Starring as a Manhattan novelist visiting her estranged sister (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Nicole Kidman’s character has a darkness surrounding her. She is the definition of bad energy, someone whose arrival in a room suddenly brings down everybody’s energy in the room. But, Kidman doesn’t villainise her character – she lets us know that she is also human.

Destroyer (2018)

Saying that Nicole Kidman’s physical transformation in Destroyer is shocking would be an understatement. From the messy haircut to dirt smeared all over her face, the broken LAPD cop in recovery is another unique character Nicole did with ease. Also, the physical change does not distract us from her raw performance.