The wild cause Nicole Kidman drank a complete glass of milk whereas accepting the Best Actress award on the 2025 National Board of Review Gala
Nicole Kidman caused a stir when she downed an entire glass of milk while accepting the Best Actress award at the 2025 National Board of Review Gala in New York on Tuesday night.
The Hollywood star, 57, was presented with the prestigious gong by her The Perfect Couple co-star Liev Schreiber, who played her husband.
She was recognised in the Best Actress category for her new age-gap romance film Babygirl, which has been highly-talked-about since its Christmas Day release.
During her acceptance speech, Nicole drank an entire glass of milk while on stage at the prestigious venue – Cipriani 42nd Street.
While she might have left some baffled by her wild action, it was actually a nod to a now-viral scene from Babygirl.
In the movie, Nicole stars as married company boss Romy who falls for her young intern Samuel, played by Harris Dickinson, 28, and they embark on a steamy affair.
Nicole Kidman caused a stir when she downed an entire glass of milk while accepting the Best Actress award at the 2025 National Board of Review Gala in New York on Tuesday night
During her acceptance speech, Nicole drank an entire glass of milk while on stage at the prestigious venue – Cipriani 42nd Street
The film features a whole host of very raunchy scenes but one in particular has gone viral on social media – and it bizarrely involved a glass of milk.
In the now-infamous scene, Samuel has already caught the eye of Romy when they enjoy some drinks after work with their colleagues.
Romy is presented with a glass of milk by a waiter and she realises that Samuel has ordered the drink for her, prompting her to drink the entire glass as he watches.
As he walks out of the bar, Samuel then whispers to her, ‘Good girl,’ setting the scene for the intense power-play dynamics in their budding relationship.
Surprisingly, it is not the only scene involving milk in the film as Romy also seductively licks milk off a plate in another moment, before Samuel then sucks it off her lip.
And Nicole made a cheeky reference to the headline-making bar scene at the National Board of Review Gala as she once again downed an entire glass of milk.
In a nod to her character’s flirtatious exchange, Nicole held up a glass of milk to show the audience, before boldly necking it on stage.
She then proudly showed the empty glass to the crowd at the awards ceremony, which recognises the best films of the year.
In a nod to her character’s flirtatious exchange, Nicole held up a glass of milk to show the audience, before boldly necking it on stage
While she might have left some baffled by her wild action, it was actually a nod to a now-viral scene from her film Babygirl – for which she was recognised at the awards show
In the now-infamous scene, Nicole’s character Romy drinks an entire glass of milk in a bar (pictured) during a flirty exchange with her younger intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson)
The Hollywood star, 57, was presented with the prestigious gong by her The Perfect Couple on-screen husband Liev Schreiber at Tuesday night’s ceremony
Nicole recently addressed the recurring use of milk in Babygirl’s sex scenes and told how it is symbolic of the affair itself.
‘Milk and cookies and all these sensory things are used for the power struggle,’ she explained in a recent interview with Hits Radio.
The Australian star revealed that she had to drink around 16 glasses of milk while filming the iconic bar scene.
She admitted her first thought upon reading the scene was ‘how many glasses of milk am I going to have to drink?’ before adding: ‘I think it was maybe 15 or 16.’
Director Halina Reijn has also revealed what inspired the sensual milk scene, revealing something similar actually happened to her when she was in her 30s.
Halina, 49, recalled going out for drinks after one of her stage performances, when a famous Belgian actor – whom she noted was ‘way, way younger’ than her – sent her a glass of milk.
‘I drank it, and he just walked out,’ she told W Magazine. ‘I thought, ”How does this guy get the courage?” I did think it was a very sensual thing to do. And I thought it was very funny.’
Nicole’s role in Babygirl is widely considered to be her most erotic yet, but the Big Little Lies star was far from fazed to take on the challenge.
Nicole was seen smiling backstage with her former co-star Liev as they reunited for a rare appearance at the awards ceremony
On the night, Nicole cut a sophisticated figure in a black gown with white detailing around the cuffs and neckline
‘The thing that attracted me to the film is that it’s in the voice of the female,’ she shared on The Graham Norton Show.
‘A lot of films in this genre we saw in the 90s came from the male view, but this is twisted around and told though the lens of a woman.’
Host Graham asked her if she was hesitant about filming the sex scenes, but Nicole insisted that she was only ever excited and wanted to go beyond her ‘comfort zone’.
‘I loved the script, I love supporting women in the industry, and it was just really good. It is exciting and bold, and I am always looking to push out of my comfort zone,’ she shared.
However, the erotic scenes in Babygirl were not without their challenges as Nicole admitted she had to pause shooting the intense scenes at one point.
According to The Sun, she said: ‘There was an enormous amount of sharing and trust and then frustration. It’s like, ”Don’t touch me”.
‘There were times when we were shooting where I was like, ”I don’t want to orgasm any more. Don’t come near me. I hate doing this”.
In Babygirl, Nicole stars as married company boss Romy who falls for her young intern Samuel, played by Harris Dickinson, 28, and they embark on a steamy affair
”’I don’t care if I am never touched again in my life! I’m over it”. It was so present all the time for me that it was almost like a burnout.’
The cast convened with an intimacy co-ordinator for the racy scenes and Nicole believes she was able to act the racy moments because Halina was a female director.
She said: ‘It’s the story that I wanted to be a part of, that I wanted to tell, and every part of me was committed to that. There was enormous care taken by all of us.’
Nicole has not been afraid to push the boundaries during her 40-year career, famously starring in an orgy scene in the 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut with her then-husband Tom Cruise.
