Here’s Why Nicole Kidman Felt Compelled To Tell This ‘Big Little Lie’ at the Start of Her Career

Actress Nicole Kidman has done such brilliant roles now that it would surprise many of her fans to learn that she had to lie about a significant physical aspect of hers to get roles in her early days. In an interview with the Radio Times Podcast, the 5'11" actress from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, who was already 5'10" when she was 13 years old, said, per PEOPLE, that early in her acting career, "I was told, 'You won't have a career. You're too tall."

Kidman distinctly recalled lying about her height, saying she was 5 feet 10½ inches rather than 5 feet 11 inches. She also recalls trying out for Annie during a big open call and being concerned that she would be passed up because she was too tall. "I had to talk my way through the door, 'cause they were measuring you before you went in. I was mortified," Kidman recalled. 

It's not only Kidman's acting gigs that were disrupted because of how tall she was. “I was called 'storky.' [People would say], ‘How’s the air up there?!’ ... [Now I get], ‘You’re so much taller than I thought,' [and then] grappling with how high my heels should be," she went on. "Whenever you go on the red carpet, they send the shoes, and the shoes are always so high. And I’m like, ‘Do they have a kitten heel? ... I’m just gonna be the tallest person — the giraffe!'"

Back in November 2020, Kidman opened up about her 'fears and insecurities' about how tall she was as a teenager in a digital cover story with Glamour U.K. “I was a teenager who wouldn’t conform, but I had a lot of fears and insecurities because I was very tall. I was 5ft10in’ by the time I was 13 years old,” she said. The Academy Award winner acknowledged that, on occasion, her height 'bothers' her: "[But] there are times when I appreciate it when it's related to what I'm doing [in my work]. I'm like,' 'Okay, I can use this now.'" Kidman said that she has "had knee issues and all sorts of things — partly 'cause of my height," despite being "incredibly grateful to be healthy and walking around."

However, the thought of her children puts whatever uncertainty she may be feeling into perspective. Kidman is the mother of 29-year-old son Connor Cruise as well as Bella Kidman Cruise, 31, Sunday, 15, and 13-year-old Faith. "I tell my daughters none of it matters," said the Big Little Lies star. "What matters is how you allow other people to either say 'yes' or 'no' to you, and whether you accept that. ... That inner resilience, as a human being — that’s the superpower, really."