“You can either become more rigid as you become older, but you can also become more free” – NICOLE KIDMAN
We should probably talk about the snake. Nicole Kidman certainly wants to. She loves snakes. “I like them,” Kidman clarifies, with a laugh. “I love my children, I love my husband.” But, yes, she does like snakes. “I think it's something to do with the same way that I skydive or scuba dive,” Kidman begins. The actor, 56, is comfortable with being uncomfortable in a way that continues to subvert every expectation about her. Kidman is a movie star who has made television her growth industry, an artist, possessing of ferocious intellect, who isn't afraid to produce confronting, provocative work. A woman who, when presented with a snake on the set of her ninth cover shoot for Vogue Australia – even if the snake was a little bigger than she was anticipating – stood firm, chin up, and held out her arms. Put it this way: Nicole Kidman is fearless.
For the record, the snake was her idea. She had never done a photo shoot with one before and, she shares serenely, has the ability to put herself into a trance, “which allows me to do things that I wouldn't necessarily do”. Plus, the actor adds, “I think they're very beautiful.” Kidman finds snakes “alluring”, is fascinated by the way “they slither and move” and by the notion of shedding skins. “You can become and try different things, all the time, which is what excites me,” she reflects. Does
