Nicole Kidman has been honoured with an American Movie Institute life achievement award at a ceremony wherein stars shared tales of “fairly merely one of many biggest actresses”.
The Oscar-winner turned the primary Australian actor to obtain the very best honour for a profession in movie at AFI, throughout a ceremony which featured speeches from Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Reese Witherspoon, and her husband, Keith City.
The Gala Tribute on the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles additionally included appearances from former co-stars together with Miles Teller from Rabbit Gap, The Paperboy’s Zac Efron, Zoe Saldana from Particular Ops: Lioness, and Joey King from upcoming movie A Household Affair.
The ceremony opened with a video of Freeman in a parody of Kidman’s AMC Theatres advert, earlier than he took to the stage telling the viewers that the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge, starring Kidman and Ewan McGregor, was “one in all my favorite movies of all time”.
Streep, who co-starred in The Hours which gained Kidman an Oscar in 2003, offered the award.
She joked “the very hardest a part of being incessantly known as the best actress of our era” is working with actually nice actresses reminiscent of Kidman – “that’s tough”.
“The vary of your work is beautiful, your listing of credit and roles and good deeds on this planet would take a traditional individual three lifetimes to attain,” she mentioned.
“Your life and your resume problem all the things we find out about what number of hours there are within the day and what number of locations a girl could be in a single time.
“It’s arduous to not envy Nicole, however it is usually unattainable to not be in awe of her.”
Streep additionally mentioned she was “floored” by Kidman’s efficiency on the primary day of capturing the TV sequence Huge Little Lies.
“That’s the time I got here inside respiratory distance of the formidable presents Nicole has, and her course of, and her seismic financial institution of feelings that she’s bought locked up inside her, and her stamina and her drive to be an artist and her self-discipline.
“I haven’t recovered from that first day, I’ve by no means seen something like that in my life.”
Amassing her award, Kidman mentioned Streep has been her “guiding gentle” throughout her profession, including: “It has all the time been you, and nobody can contact you.”
Kidman praised all the administrators she has labored with, together with The Hours director Stephen Daldry who was “by my facet throughout probably the most weak, tough time of my life – you held my hand, you bought me via it and also you gained me an Oscar”.
Through the ceremony, British actress Naomi Watts spoke of assembly Kidman aged 15 at an audition for a swimsuit advert, earlier than Kidman provided to pay her taxi fare dwelling, starting their “many years lengthy” friendship.
“Nic has all the time been probably the most beneficiant individual – she has opened up her houses to me, she has made me really feel like part of her household, she was just like the sister I by no means had,” Watts mentioned.
“She’s extremely supportive of different ladies, for 10 years once I lived very a lot below the radar, she repeated to me, one factor Nad, one factor will change all the things, I swear simply cling in there. And she or he was proper. And sure, she saved me. So many occasions.”
Amongst those that made digital appearances was Russell Crowe, who described Kidman as “fairly merely one of many biggest actresses who’ve ever labored on this enterprise”.
Kidman was on account of be offered with the award on 10 June final 12 months, however the ceremony was postponed indefinitely as a result of writers’ strike, which was resolved in September after 146 days on the picket line.
She has been nominated for 5 Academy Awards and has gained a Bafta, two Emmys, and 6 Golden Globe awards.
