Long before Nicole Kidman became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, she faced a personal challenge that made speaking difficult. The 59-year-old actress revealed she struggled with a stutter between the ages of four and six.
In the resurfaced interview, Nicole Kidman recalls struggling to get her words out
Kidman’s childhood struggle has resurfaced after an interview with her Practical Magic 2 co-star Sandra Bullock for Attitude Magazine. During the conversation, Kidman revealed that she had struggled with a stutter as a child. The admission caught Bullock off guard, as she said she had never known about Kidman’s stutter.
Bullock asked, “I never knew you had a stutter? How old were you?” Kidman replied, “Um, four, five, six. Through those ages. I would know exactly what I wanted to say, and I’d be almost excited to say it, but it wouldn’t; it would just take time to come out.” Although the stutter still occurs occasionally, the Oscar winner said she has learned to manage it. She said, “Sometimes I’ll have like a second or two of it, but I’ve learned a technique, and I’ve learned how to manage it. Yeah, and it is probably why I speak softly.”
However, her childhood struggle ultimately taught her a lesson that proved useful in her acting career. She explained that people would often encourage her to stop, pause, think about what she wanted to say, and then speak. Since she sometimes struggled to get the words out, learning to pause became second nature to her. Kidman added that the habit has also proved useful in everyday life.
The actress has previously linked her childhood stutter to the deep shyness she continues to experience from time to time. She said once, as reported by Radar, “I am very shy – really shy – I even had a stutter as a kid, which I slowly got over, but I still regress into that shyness. So I don’t like walking into a crowded restaurant by myself. I don’t like going to a party by myself.”
Nearly 30 years after the original Practical Magic, Kidman and Bullock are back together for Practical Magic 2, which hit theaters on September 11. For streaming, the film is expected to be available on HBO Max around November 27.
