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Nicole Kidman wakes up ‘crying and gasping’ over her mortality, Keith Urban marriage and more

In a candid new interview, Nicole Kidman opens up about her marriage and her thoughts on mortality after the recent loss of her mother.

Nicole Kidman 'hanging in there' following family death

Nicole Kidman detailed waking up “crying and gasping” for air after hitting her mid-50s due to thoughts about her own humanity.

The Babygirl actress, 57, told GQ in an interview published Monday that she is feeling “everything all the more now” due to “mortality, connection, life coming and hitting you.”

“And loss of parents and raising children and marriage and all of the things that go into making you a fully sentient human,” she continued listing, referencing her children growing up and her parents dying.

“I’m in all of those places.”

Picture: Felix Cooper/GQ

The Oscar winner shares daughters Sunday Rose, 16, and Faith Margaret, 13, with husband Keith Urban. She is also mum to daughter Bella, 31, and son Conner, 29, with ex Tom Cruise.

While her father, Antony, died a decade ago, the Big Little Lies star recently lost her mother, Janelle.

Kidman learned of her mother’s death while on her way to the Venice International Film Festival in September, which left her “heartbroken.”

Picture: Felix Cooper/GQ

“So life is, whew. It’s definitely a journey,” she told GQ. “And it hits you as you get older how — it’s a wake up at 3am crying and gasping kind of thing. If you’re in it and not numbing yourself to it.”

“And I’m in it,” she added. “Fully in it.”

Despite dealing with such heavy emotions in her personal life, Kidman continues to challenge herself professionally — such as her highly talked-about role in Halina Reijn’s new erotic thriller.

In the film, which has garnered Oscar buzz, Kidman plays a 50-something female CEO who finds herself in “a BDSM-tinged affair” with a much younger intern.

Kidman and her sister Antonia lost their beloved mother Janelle in September. Picture: Instagram
Kidman and her sister Antonia lost their beloved mother Janelle in September. Picture: Instagram

Kidman said watching the explicit film with audiences for the first time was “terrifying” but “thrilling” — especially since she puts so much of herself into each character she plays.

“I’m willing to go to whatever place to make it real and deep,” she said of her acting style.

However, sometimes that means feeling everything her character feels — which admittedly has contributed to her heightened emotions.

“I get sick or I get disturbed,” Kidman said of her roles. “It penetrates my dreams, I don’t sleep well, I shake, I have all sorts of different physical manifestations from it.”

Due to the intensity of Babygirl, the actress said she often suffered nightmares and middle-of-the-night heart palpitations.

The actress says she often wakes up ‘crying and gasping’ with husband Keith Urban left to console her. Picture: John Shearer/Getty Images
The actress says she often wakes up ‘crying and gasping’ with husband Keith Urban left to console her. Picture: John Shearer/Getty Images

Not only did it take a toll on her emotionally, but it also affected her physically.

Last month, the Perfect Couple star admitted that filming sex scenes in the movie became so exhausting she had to take a break.

“There were times when we were shooting where I was like, ‘I don’t want to [imitate] orgasm any more,’” she told The Sun.

“Don’t come near me. I hate doing this. I don’t care if I am never touched again in my life!”

Kidman said she was “so present” during the intimate scenes “that it was almost like a burnout.”

While there “was an enormous amount of sharing and trust” between her and co-stars Harrison Dickinson and Antonio Banderas, there was also lots of “frustration.”

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Nicole Kidman wakes up ‘crying and gasping’ over her mortality, Keith Urban marriage and more

Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/entertainment/books-magazines/magazines/nicole-kidman-wakes-up-crying-and-gasping-over-her-mortality-keith-urban-marriage-and-more/news-story/ac625febbbe718f0c2fafe01effeba3c