In a rare move, Cruise opens up about casting Kidman and their collaborative journey on one of cinema’s most enigmatic films.
By Joe D.
Hollywood’s most private leading man just slightly opened the curtain.
Known for keeping information about his personal life private, Tom Cruise recently made unusual remarks regarding his ex-wife Nicole Kidman, therefore clarifying their time spent together on Stanley Kubrick’s last film, Eyes Wide Shut.
Cruise, now 62, spoke to Sight and Sound magazine of the British Film Institute, looking back on the 1999 sexual drama’s creative process. The actor remembered the film’s early development phases, including his own recommendation of Kidman for the lead female part.
Working Together On-Screen and Off both
Married from 1990 until their divorce in 2001, Cruise and Kidman portrayed a married pair negotiating temptation and emotional disintegration in Eyes Wide Shut. Though the work itself turned out to be a long and arduous trip, their on-screen connection reflected their real-life relationship at the time.
Cruise claims the production was far from conventional. On set, the movie changed continuously; scenes were often reworked and reshot to try to lock in the appropriate tone. Shot over almost two years, the movie became one of Stanley Kubrick’s most painstaking and enigmatic works.
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A Look Inside Family Life on Set
Though Eyes Wide Shut dealt with issues of secrecy and infidelity, the truth behind the scenes seemed more down to earth. Cruise and Kidman were spending long hours deep in Kubrick’s creative process and raising their two small children, Isabella and Connor, during the shoot.
The family allegedly lived in a trailer close to the set, adopting a makeshift domestic life that included informal meals with the famous director. Although the movie’s mood was severe, those there recall times of levity and laughter between takes—a balance between work and family that mirrored their lives at the time.
Cruise and Kidman’s divorce in 2001 closed a decade-long chapter in both their life following the Spotlight. They have seldom talked in public about one another since then. Before their 2012 divorce, Cruise wed actress Katie Holmes; they have daughter Suri together. Kidman married country music legend Keith Urban in 2006; the two now parent two girls together.
Notable are, despite the years of quiet, times like these when Cruise expresses appreciation and warmth for the past. His remarks are a subtle reminder of a creative collaboration that was both intimate and filmic.
Last Reflections
Though decades have gone since their divorce, Cruise’s recognition of Kidman’s ability and their work on Eyes Wide Shut provides a unique insight into a difficult period in their common past. It also underlines the ongoing influence of a film that both its performers and its viewers pushed limits both artistically and emotionally.
