Nicole Kidman has recently spoken about her worst kissing experience on screen. The Oscar-winning actress also talked about her pet peeve that added to the experience — she is extremely sensitive to smells and cannot stand bad breath.
She appeared on the Las Culturistas podcast with hosts Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang and shared her struggles while filming a kissing scene. Kidman said, “I’m very, very smell sensitive. I’m either drawn to or drawn away based on a smell.”
As a movie star, she sometimes needs to perform such scenes and make them feel real on screen. As bad breath is a deal breaker for her, she said that she has been vocal about it to her co-stars. Kidman stated, “You could be the most gorgeous, gorgeous guy, and you come at me with bad breath, and I’m like no, no, no. If I say breathe on me, and I have to recoil? I’m out. I’m out. You could not offer me enough money.”
Nicole Kidman tells “Las Culturistas” she can’t stand a man with bad breath.
🎥: Las Culturistas pic.twitter.com/0fcnwYB7YT
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 11, 2026
She recalled filming a kissing scene with Alexander Skarsgård, who was her co-star in Big Little Lies. Before the filming of that scene, Skarsgård was having a falafel sandwich for lunch. Seeing that, Kidman promptly asked her co-star to stop eating the sandwich.
The actress said to the podcast hosts, “When Alexander Skarsgård ate a falafel sandwich before we did the scenes in Big Little Lies, I’m like, ‘No, no, no, Alex. I’m meant to be into you and kissing you — put away the falafel now.”
Kidman further added, “I’m meant to be kissing you and into you. Put away the falafel now. Because the bad breath does not turn me on.” She then went on to emphasize the importance of smelling good, especially the taste and smell of the mouth.
Nicole Kidman tells Las Culturistas she has an incredibly strong sense of smell:
“When I lost it during COVID I was relieved…finally, I was free.” pic.twitter.com/NHsFsfHfE4
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 12, 2026
The show hosts then joked about damaging Skarsgård’s appeal after this revelation. To this, the recently divorced actress responded, “I’m sure he did not eat a falafel ever again. Nope, not before you kiss. Not before you make love. Put the falafel away.”
Kidman also revealed that Rihanna is the best-smelling person she has ever met.
Social media users seemed to agree with Kidman on the issue of bad breath and kissing scenes. One X user wrote, “Honestly, bad breath is a dealbreaker. Nicole’s not wrong!” Another user commented, “Even Nicole Kidman has limits. Bad breath: the real villain in Hollywood romance.”
Currently, Kidman is focusing on co-parenting her teenagers after her divorce from Keith Urban. They were married for two decades and ended up filing for divorce in 2025. Kidman has also shared some strict rules regarding when she wants to start dating again.
