Nicole Kidman is "astounded" by the "harsh way women are judged" in films.
Nicole Kidman
The 51-year-old actress plays Erin Bell - a police detective who is drawn back into an old case that left her traumatised - in 'Destroyer' and says the action movie offers a "gritty and raw and totally authentic" look at her character who doesn't adhere to traditional beauty ideals.
In an interview with the Guardian, she said: "A lot of times if you are going to be a female in an action film, they want you to look gorgeous, be bad-ass, be capable of firing guns and doing high kicks and still having lipstick and being svelte and being in a whole different class of action hero.
"This is gritty and raw and totally authentic. It's very different to give screen time - and this amount of screen time - to a woman who looks like this, who behaves like this, who is riddled with shame and anger and fury and rage, yet is also a mother and not a good mother.
"I'm always astounded at the harsh way in which women are judged, and I shouldn't be. I should know that by now, but it is what it is."
The 'Aquaman' actress went on to explain that although she has hope things will change in "maybe 20 years time", she's desperate to "carve a path for the next generation" of women and help change the cultural landscape for the better.
She added: "Maybe in 20 years time, for the next generation of women, it will be different but by god, I want to be one of those women who's helping carve a path for the next generation, because I'm the recipient of those that have come before me to even be in this position."
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