Nicole Kidman talks about failure, peeing in a bush at SXSW Sydney talk

The Oscar-winning Australian actor made the candid confession onstage at Sydney’s inaugural SXSW festival on Thursday.

Revered Australian actor Nicole Kidman took on the SXSW Sydney stage on Thursday morning. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

Oscar award-winning Australian actor Nicole Kidman has made a candid confession about managing tight time constraints when filming and spoke about the time she “peed in the bush” while on set.

The revered Australian actor appeared at Sydney’s inaugural SXSW festival on Thursday alongside her Blossom Films co-founder Per Saari in a talk hosted by journalist and childhood neighbour Peter Overton.

“I have peed in the bush because there was nothing around, and we had very little time and we were losing the light, so it’s like go behind the tree,” she said to widespread laughter from the 2500-plus audience.

“Hey, you’ve got to do what you gotta do to get the shot.”

The Australian actor spoke at the inaugural SXSW Sydney event. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

She made the confession in front of a crowd of more than 2500 guests. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

Kidman spoke alongside Per Saari, who co-founded their production company Blossom Films in 2010. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

Asked about the ethos behind Blossom Films, she spoke about the importance of taking risks on emerging talent or directors whose careers have stalled.

Kidman referenced Karyn Kusama, who directed films like Jennifer’s Body (2009) and Girlfight (2000) but struggled to get work before the pair teamed up for the 2018 film Destroyer.

“She was over 46 and she was like, ‘I’m stuck. No one will take a risk on me now and I’m sort of done’,” Kidman said.

“I’m like, ‘No you’re not, I’ll go bat for you’, and we went into the gutters of LA and we made a very low-budget film, and she’s now had massive success.”

Kidman and director Karyn Kusama in 2018. Picture: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI

Describing herself as someone who will “literally just jump into things” and is “willing to fail”, Kidman said her experiences taught her the importance of second chances.

“I’ve been in that position where people have gone, ‘Oh, you’ve had some failures, you’re over’, and it’s like really? You’re telling me that, no way. Give me another chance,” she said.

“So the idea of giving people chances and letting them keep trying because you have to be able to fail.

“Unfortunately, right now it’s so cutthroat and the judgment on people is so severe and (happens) so quickly that that kind of gets lost along the way, and I can’t stand that.”

Kidman and Saari also announced their new project The Last Anniversary – a TV adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s book of the same name.

Kidman described it as an “Australian project with Australian accents” and said filming would begin from November 13.

Originally published as Nicole Kidman talks about failure, peeing in a bush at SXSW Sydney talk