Nicole Kidman reveals which actor she struggled to kiss in movie scene due to his bad breath

Nicole Kidman has enjoyed many a passionate on-screen smacker during her illustrious acting career, but the Australian actress has admitted that one actor’s breath was a tad pungent.

“What makes a good kiss?” is an agony aunt’s bread and butter. Connection, fervor, and a mint or two.

There is nothing worse than leaning in and being able to distinguish what the other participant has recently had to eat just by the stench of their exhalation, and the Hollywood icon has revealed an incident in which she was left repulsed.

A falafel faux pas on set

During the latest episode of the Las Culturistas podcast, the 58-year-old actress shared a funny behind-the-scenes moment from filming Big Little Lies with co-star Alexander Skarsgård, 49. According to Kidman, things got awkward when he showed up for a kissing scene after eating a famously malodorous falafel sandwich.

“I'm like, 'No, no, no, Alex,'” she joked.

Kidman explained that she quickly made her feelings clear at the time. “'I'm meant to be into you and kissing you — put away the falafel now because the bad breath does not turn me on,'” she recalled telling him. She added that a costar’s breath matters a lot to her while filming, saying the taste and smell of someone’s mouth is “very important.”

The actress didn’t hold back when explaining just how much bad breath bothers her.

“I don’t think so honey, if you have bad breath,” she said. “I cannot stand bad breath. This is a deal-breaker for me. You could be the most gorgeous, gorgeous guy, and you came at me with bad breath, I'm like, no.'"

Kidman joked that the moment may have changed Skarsgård’s eating habits on set. “I'm sure [Skarsgård] did not eat a falafel ever again. I said, ‘No more falafel. Not before you kiss, not before you make love.’” She continued: "If I say, ‘Breathe on me,’ and I have to recoil, yikes, I'm out. You could not offer me enough money."

She also shared that losing her sense of smell during a bout with Covid actually came as a relief, since it’s her strongest sense. “Finally, I was free,” she said.

Kidman reveals all

Elsewhere in the podcast, Kidman revealed the celebrity who smelled the “best ever.” According to her, that honor goes to singer Rihanna. Kidman described the star’s scent as “intoxicating.”

"Like I will follow you around," she added.

Kidman’s lighthearted podcast appearance came shortly after she addressed her divorce from Keith Urban for the first time. Speaking to Variety in an interview, she said she’s focused on moving forward.

"I am, because I’m always going to be moving toward what’s good," she said when asked if she was “doing all right” after the split.

She emphasized that her main priority remains her family. "What I’m grateful for is my family and keeping them as is and moving forward. That’s that," she explained. "Everything else I don’t discuss out of respect. I’m staying in a place of, 'We are a family,' and that’s what we’ll continue to be. My beautiful girls, my darlings, who are suddenly women."

Kidman filed for divorce from Urban in September 2025, and their split was finalized on January 6. The former couple share two daughters, Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 15.

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