“It means a lot to me,” Kidman said through tears. “I have been working since I was 14-years-old … This is reality colliding with fantasy.”
With most of the women in the crowd wearing black once again, in solidarity of the #TimesUp movement, Kidman acknowledged why this award, “at this time in the industry, and for this role” was particularly meaningful.
Her complex and nuanced portrayal of character, Celeste Wright in ‘Big Little Lies’–a wealthy housewife in the throes of a domestically violent marriage won her widespread acclaim.
In an interview with ‘W’ in September last year, Kidman explained how she managed to maintain her mental strength while playing such an emotionally draining role.
“I’m fortunate in the sense that I have worked now for a long time in this industry, and so I know how to kind of balance myself so I can do a role like that, yet still be able to come home to my family and not be a complete wreck,” she said.
Exposing domestic violence through entertainment gave the issue new weight, which Kidman deemed critical.
“The goal in this series, was to shine a light on domestic abuse through entertainment, opening doors and topics that are taboo a lot of times,” she said. “And that was part of the appeal of the book, I think, to people, and of the series. It’s that as much as it’s kind of tied up in this entertaining, frothy exterior, that the interior of the series is very, very deep and topical.”
During her acceptance speech, Kidman– who turned 50 last year– celebrated the fact that women in Hollywood were no longer being cast to the wayside at a certain age.
“How wonderful it is that our careers can go beyond 40 years old,” she said.
“Twenty years ago we were pretty washed up by this stage of our lives, we are proving that we are potent and powerful and viable, I beg that the industry stays behind us.”
President of the Screen Actors Guild, Gabrielle Carteris, backed up this sentiment, saying there had been “a massive cultural shift, with brave voices saying me too, and advocates who know time’s up. We are making a difference.”
“Change is coming and we are the agents of that change, men and women. We can and we must create an environment in which discrimination, harassment and abuse are no longer tolerated,” she said.