Once upon a time, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were one of the hottest couples in Hollywood. They met during the filming of the 1990 movie Days of Thunder, and Cruise had said that they had an instantaneous attraction. He said, “My first reaction to meeting Nic was pure lust. It was totally physical.”
They soon got married in 1990 and did another film, Far and Away (1992). One would think that Kidman would be happy to collaborate with Cruise, but years later she lamented her decision to do a film with her now ex-husband so quickly after their marriage.
Nicole Kidman Regretted Doing Films With Tom Cruise After Marriage
In a 1995 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Nicole Kidman admitted that she should have analyzed the career impact of doing a film with Tom Cruise immediately after their marriage better. Far and Away was a romance drama with a budget of $60 million and grossed $157 million globally.
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While the film did well at the box office, it didn’t do anything substantial for her career. She had said:
“In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have done a movie with him so quickly. I probably should have done more by myself to be seen independently.”
They did another film together, Eyes Wide Shut (1999), directed by Stanley Kubrick. However, later on, after their divorce in 2001, Kidman admitted that she felt overshadowed by Cruise’s mega-stardom. The actress also revealed that she felt like her career was completely dependent on Cruise.
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Nicole Kidman Felt She Was Secondary In Her Relationship With Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise is a mega personality in Hollywood, both influential and powerful. Even today, the box office collections of his films are huge. Top Gun 2, his last film, grossed $1.4 billion at the box office. Steven Spielberg even thanked him for saving Hollywood at the 2023 Academy Awards luncheon.
As such, it’s understandable why Nicole Kidman might have felt like she was secondary to him, and was walked on the red carpets of their films as only his wife and not as a co-star.
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In an interview with Glamour, she said:
“I felt I became a star only by association. I didn’t think [my early movies] were very good, which is why I would always cower in the background. I thought I don’t deserve to be here. We would go to the Oscars and I would think, ‘I’m here to support him.’”
It’s clear that over time, she has escaped this mentality. Nicole Kidman went on to have a great career after her divorce from Cruise. From The Golden Compass to Australia to Aquaman, she has proven herself to be a star. Next up, she’s reprising her role as Atlanta in Aquaman 2. She will also be seen in another film, A Family Affair, in 2023.
Source: EW
