Nicole Kidman 'Didn't Feel Exploited' Making Sex-Filled “Babygirl” Because 'I Was in the Hands of a Woman' Director

Nicole Kidman, Antonio Banderas and Harris Dickinson star in 'Babygirl,' written and directed by Halina Reijn

Nicole Kidman never felt exploited while pushing her boundaries making the erotic thriller Babygirl.

Babygirl, from writer-director Halina Reijn, makes its premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Friday, Aug. 30, and in a press conference held beforehand, Kidman, 57, expressed how the process was different since she had a female filmmaker to work with.

"That's what made it so compelling, was being in the hands of Halina, because I knew she wasn't gonna exploit me," Kidman told reporters. "I mean, however anyone interprets that, I didn't feel exploited. I felt very much a part of it. It's the story that I wanted to be a part of, that I wanted to tell. And every part of me was committed to that."

She added of the cast and crew, "There was enormous care taken by all of us. We were all very, very gentle with each other and helped each other."

Kidman stars as a high-powered CEO who starts a dangerous affair with a younger man (played by Harris Dickinson). Antonio Banderas also stars in the A24 movie as her husband.

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During the press conference, Kidman explained, "This is one woman's story, and this is, I hope, a very liberating story. It's told by a woman through her gaze ... and that's what, to me, made it so unique, was that suddenly I was gonna be in the hands of a woman with this material."

Speaking with Vanity Fair earlier this month, Kidman said playing Romy in Babygirl “left me ragged” and feeling “very exposed as an actor, as a woman, as a human being.” 

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“At some point I was like, I don’t want to be touched. I don’t want to do this anymore, but at the same time I was compelled to do it. Halina would hold me and I would hold her, because it was just very confronting to me,” she recalled.

Of the movie's intimate moments, she said, "This is something you do and hide in your home videos. It is not a thing that normally is going to be seen by the world.… I had to go in and go out like, I need to put my protection back on. 'What have I just done? Where did I go? What did I do?' ”

Babygirl is in theaters Dec. 25.

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