Nicole Kidman on Expats and Being “Too Tall” to Make It in Hollywood

Known for her small screen roles in shows such as Big Little Lies, The Undoing and Nine Perfect Strangers, Nicole Kidman is set to lead the cast of new Prime Video series Expats.

The six-parter follows three American women whose lives intersect after a sudden family tragedy, and stars Kidman as one of the women, Margaret.

With a long list of films and TV shows under her belt, Kidman is definitely within the realm of the Hollywood A-list today. But, according to her, the Oscar winner‘s acting career got off to a rocky start when she was told as a teenager that she was “too tall” to make it.

Speaking on the Radio Times Podcast, Kidman shared: “I was told, ‘You won’t have a career. You’re too tall.'”

At the age of 13, Kidman was already 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 metres) tall, and she said: “I say I’m 5 feet 10.5 inches (1.79 metres), but I’m really 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 metres).”

Kidman continued: “It will bother me when I’m acting and I want to be small – but then there are times when I appreciate it and can use it in my work.

“Hey, I’m incredibly grateful to be healthy and walking around. Having said that, I’ve had knee issues and all sorts of things – partly because of my height!

“But what I tell my daughters is that none of it matters. What matters is how you allow other people to either say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to you, and whether you accept that. Inner resilience as a human being, that’s the superpower, really.”

In the podcast episode, Kidman also unpacked her latest role and the importance of having more women behind the camera. The 56-year-old has scooped up plenty of awards in her time, including an Academy Award, BAFTA and six Golden Globes, and first made her mark in the industry in Dead Calm, where she starred opposite Sam Neill.

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More recently, Kidman starred in Special Ops: Lioness, but will now feature in Expats, the new series from The Farewell‘s Lulu Wang. Wang has not only written and created the series, but also serves as director and executive producer alongside Kidman and Daniele Tate Melia.

Premiering on Prime Video on January 26, Expats also stars Ji-young Yoo as Mercy and Sarayu Blue as Hilary Starr, with the show based on the internationally best-selling novel The Expatriates by Janice YK Lee.

The official series synopsis reads: “Set against the vibrant and tumultuous tapestry of 2014 Hong Kong, Expats centres on three American women – Margaret (Nicole Kidman), Hilary (Sarayu Blue) and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo) – whose lives intersect after a sudden family tragedy.

“The series interrogates privilege and explores what happens when the line between victimhood and culpability becomes blurred. Brian Tee plays Margaret’s husband Clarke and Jack Huston plays Hilary’s husband David.”

Expats premieres on Prime Video on Friday, 26 January with the first two episodes.

(Main and featured images: John Nacion/ WireImage)

This story first appeared on www.radiotimes.com

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