Nicole Kidman Was Told She’d Never ‘Have a Career’ in Hollywood Because She Was ‘Too Tall’
The ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ star admitted that she used to lie about her height to casting directors out of fear that her height would cost her roles.
Nicole Kidman revealed that she used to be insecure about her height out of fear that she wouldn’t be able to get cast in different projects in a new interview with the Radio Times podcast on Tuesday, January 16. Standing at 5’11”, the Moulin Rouge! actress, 56, admitted that she had a few times that she missed out on roles because of her height.
Nicole revealed that when she was a kid, she used to be bullied on occasion because of her height. “I was teased and called Stalky,” she said on the podcast. “People would say, ‘How’s the air up there?’” She continued and said that some people would warn her that she was too tall to have a professional acting career. “I was told, ‘You won’t have a career. You’re too tall,'” she explained.
The Hours actress revealed that she used to lie about her height, and opened up about how she feels about it now. “I say I’m 5ft 10 1/2in, but I’m really 5ft 11in,” she said. “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.”
Besides acting, Nicole also joked about how she often asks for smaller heels when she goes to events. She also admitted that despite being healthy, her height has contributed to a few issues with her knee. “Whenever I go on the red carpet, I get sent shoes that are always so high. I’m like, ‘Do they have a kitten heel? I’m going to be the tallest person — a giraffe!” she quipped.
Ultimately, Nicole also said that she uses the fact that she’s been a huge success to show her daughters that they can be successful even when other people are naysayers. “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,” she said.