INTERVIEW

Nicole Kidman becomes Princess Grazia

It was the opening film of the Cannes Film Festival and it is a film that I am particularly looking forward to, story- and fashion-wise, Grace of Monaco, yet another highlight of Nicole Kidman where she happily caught up with us, telefonically all the way from down under, for a quarter of an hour.

Was it love at first sight, Grace and Nicole?

I found the script incredibly fascinating. My mother grew up with Grace and Marilyn Monroe, the iconic actresses of her generation. I have of course seen Grace Kelly in the Hitchcock films she starred in but was not really familiar with her personal story. Our story covers just six months of her life but it is the turning point where she realizes that her commitment to her husband, children, and the people of Monaco is more important than a Hollywood career.

What struck you the most about her story?

Her need for a home and a family made her leave that exceptional life she had worked so hard for. Our film begins at the point where she is married, has two children but lives in an ivory tower. She still has the desire to act, but that was impossible. I was drawn to the push-pull theme. Sometimes people have a higher responsibility than their personal pleasure. Grace belonged to that group.

You look so much like her in the film

Thanks to amazing makeup artists, I am able to transform into the most diverse types. Grace Kelly was a classic beauty. By the way of lighting, making my eyebrows longer, and dyeing my hair very blonde, I started to look more like her. If you think they succeeded in making me look like her, I am deeply flattered.

The film is released in the Netherlands tomorrow and it seems like we all can't wait to see this film. Why do you think that is?

People have a great love for glamour and Grace was the personification of glamour. The costumes in the film are so beautiful and the direction is fantastic. Olivier Dahan, the director, is actually a painter and the film reflects his artistic eye.

Sounds wonderful to wear such beautiful costumes

Because I have two children, I usually dress casually for practical reasons. Moreover, the last films I acted in were quite raw and certainly not glamorous. It was indeed wonderful to wear all these beautiful outfits. When I wore the ball gown for the last scene of the film and walked into the Hotel de Paris in Monaco, I felt like I was in a dream. The fairy-tale aspect of making this film was wearing the clothes and the jewelry. Every day again.

I understood that the locations were also fairy-tale-like

We had the best locations, ever. It was very authentic because we filmed on the French Riviera and in Monaco. We had access to many places that Grace herself also visited.

After such a great collaboration, all those amazing looks and filming in the most beautiful locations, your film was also shown as the opening film in Cannes.

Last year I was one of the jury members, one of the most amazing experiences of my life by the way, so it was great to be here now for this reason. It was also at the Cannes Film Festival where Grace once met Rainier, which gave it all a nice full circle touch.