Ironically, the collapse of one of tinsel town’s longest lasting golden couples seems to have done wonders for Nicole Kidman’s career, that she never enjoyed as Mrs. Tom Cruise. Call it public sympathy or the fury of a woman scorned, but Kidman is probably one of the biggest female icons of Hollywood today. Just last year, she was at the forefront of Oscar’s Best Actress nominees, for her electrifying performance in the Baz Luhrmann “Moulin Rouge” that failed to earn her the coveted statuette. That was then and this is now, as she once again leads the pack for the very same award that eluded her last year. This year its her acclaimed turn as author Virginia Woolf in the celebrated “The Hours”, which garnered nominations for almost all its central characters.
But what probably will clinch the award for her, is her much publicised use of a prosthetic nose to resemble the character she plays. Hollywood, the Academy, included, has a history of showing a weakness for actors shunning glamour for authenticity. Ask Dustin Hoffman for his cross dressing turn in “Tootsie”, for one. Or more recently, Hilary Swank’s win for “Boys Don’t Cry” based on the life of Teena Brandon who passed herself off as a man for most of her life.
An A-list actress like the gorgeous Kidman, shedding her high-profile glamour for a more believable image, is too irresistible for the Academy to ignore. And of course, what better way to give the ultimate snub to Hollywood’s golden boy, ex-hubby Tom Cruise, who definitely is not in the reckoning this year. Again!
- Jigme Palden Pazo