Karyn Kusama says working with Nicole Kidman on ‘Destroyer’ was one of the most "magical creative collaborations" she’s ever experienced on set.
The 50-year-old director watched in awe as the 51-year-old actress "disappeared" into her alter ego, LAPD detective Erin Bell, in the crime drama and she admits she’s only really got to know the real Nicole since shooting wrapped because she stayed in character during the shoot.
In an interview with Collider, Kusama said: "It’s a really rare and profound thing to see an actor want to go that deep and disappear, that is a really interesting thing. I’ve been doing a lot of press with her recently and it’s like I keep looking next to her like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s Nicole,’ because I never really got to be with Nicole when I was making the movie. I was with Erin and it was a really interesting experience to see how deep she went and how she was sort of able to do that with me and alongside me. It was one of the most magical creative collaborations I’ve had with an actor."
The thriller follows Nicole’s character Erin as she revisits an undercover gang case from her early days in the police force which had tragic consequences.
The movie was shot on a fairly low budget but Kusama believes the financial restrictions helped give the movie a sense of what Los Angeles "actually looks like".
She explained: "It was as if we decided to make it as hard as possible, but that being said I think you do gain a sense of what LA actually looks like when you’re really driving in traffic and what kind of neighborhoods you really encounter and how big and sprawling and diverse and sort of crazy it really is."
‘Big Little Lies’ actress Kidman previously admitted she desperately wanted to take on the role of Erin because she wanted to support filmmaker Kusama – whose previous work includes 2005 sci-fi film ‘Aeon Flux’ and 2009 horror comedy ‘Jennifer’s Body’.
Kidman explained: "I wanted in part to go and support a female director, who is not 21, and has taken a few hits herself. There are suddenly a few more opportunities for female actors out there."
Karyn Kusama: Working with Nicole Kidman was magical
