Nicole Kidman: ‘I Want to Work with Martin Scorsese, if He Does a Film with Women’

Paul Thomas Anderson, Spike Jones, Michael Haneke, and Kathryn Bigelow are also on Kidman's list of dream collaborators.

Nicole Kidman is subtly calling out Martin Scorsese for not making features that center on female characters.

The “Babygirl” actress and mega-producer told Vanity Fair that she would love to work with Scorsese, if the auteur “does a film with women.”

While Scorsese is best known for his more male-centric ensemble features like “Raging Bull,” “After Hours,” and “Goodfellas,” the director has famously collaborated with iconic actresses like Sharon Stone, Lorraine Bracco, Juliette Lewis, and Margot Robbie for acclaimed performances, not to mention Ellen Burstyn winning a Best Actress Academy Award for “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.”

In 2019, Scorsese’s “The Irishman” was criticized for only having Anna Paquin say seven words onscreen. Scorsese said at the time of the assumed lack of female characters in his films, “If the story doesn’t call for it… it’s a waste of everybody’s time.”

In addition to Scorsese, Kidman also told VF that she would “love to work with” Kathryn Bigelow, Spike Jones, and Paul Thomas Anderson.” 

She continued, “I’ve always wanted to work with Michael Haneke. And there’s a whole slew of new up-and-coming directors — there’s so many, and I’m always open to the discovery of new people. And I find it really exciting when you go, ‘Here’s someone that’s so experienced and has been working and working, but they’ve now really hit their stride.’ I worked with Karyn Kusama on ‘Destroyer,’ and she’s gone on to ‘Yellowjackets’ and so many big things now. She was at a point where she was frustrated and not getting the things made that she wanted and wasn’t having the opportunities.”

Kidman explained that she is “very spontaneous” when selecting roles and directors to collaborate with.

“When [director Susanne Bier] called me, we didn’t have all the scripts for ‘Perfect Couple,’ but I was like, ‘Yes.’ When Halina [Reijn] reached out for ‘Babygirl,’ I was already going, ‘OK, just the title alone, I’m in,'” Kidman said. “If I feel freedom and safe with a person, then I can just give them everything. But I’ve got to feel arms around the project and me — that allows the expression. So much of what you’re offering is deeply personal. It needs to be held in that regard for it to really work.”

Reflecting on her career, Kidman said that she has “worked with some of the greatest” filmmakers of all-time.

“I feel intimacy with most directors that I work with. I move in very quickly. I’m very open, which is why I just have to be careful how I choose,” Kidman said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s really the best way to approach anything. But yeah, I’m trying to support all of these women at all different ages, at all different stages in their careers, put my weight behind them and go, ‘I’m here and I’m at your disposal and I’m ready.'”