Nicole Kidman Shares Sweet Throwback Video Of Her First Role At Age 14 Ahead Of AFI Award

This year marks 41 years of show business for famed actor Nicole Kidman.

To celebrate her upcoming American Film Institute (AFI) Life Achievement Award, she humbly shared throwback footage from her very first film, Bush Christmas.

The 1983 Australian holiday movie was a remake of the 1947 original of the same name and it featured Kidman when she was 14 years old in her first featured role.

On Tuesday, the 56-year-old Academy Award winner tagged the American Film Institute and posted a montage of her Bush Christmas character, Helen Thompson.

The accompanying caption read:

"This 14 year old girl could have never predicted all the talented people she would get to work with and the many different characters she would get to play 😱"

"So excited to celebrate with so many friends and peers on Saturday with the @AmericanFilmInstitute xx."

Bush Christmas takes place in rural Queensland where Kidman's character, Helen Thompson, teams up with her brother John to go after the crooks who stole their horse.

The Thompsons were hoping the horse would win the New Year's Cup so they could use the winnings to save the family farm from foreclosure.

You can see Kidman's film debut in the trailer here.

Bush Christmas -Trailer (1983) starring Nicole Kidmanyoutu.be

Kidman's breakthrough role came in 1989 with her first US film, Dead Calm, starring alongside Sam Neill and Billy Zane.

She gained international fame after starring with future ex-husband Tom Cruise in 1990's Days of Thunder and 1992's Far and Away.

Kidman won the Best Actress Academy Award for portraying Virginia Woolf in 2002's The Hours and received further Oscar nominations for Moulin Rouge! (2001), Rabbit Hole (2010), Lion (2016), and Being the Ricardos (2021).

The goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and UNIFEM is also the recipient of the BAFTA Award, two Emmys, and six Golden Globes.

Fans congratulated the venerated actor for her many contributions to the film industry in response to her throwback post.

@nicolekidman/Instagram

@nicolekidman/Instagram

@nicolekidman/Instagram

@nicolekidman/Instagram

@nicolekidman/Instagram

@nicolekidman/Instagram

@nicolekidman/Instagram

@nicolekidman/Instagram

@nicolekidman/Instagram

@nicolekidman/Instagram

In honor of People magazine's 50th anniversary, Kidman exclusively shared with the publication that it's been "crazy good" to have such devoted fans following her throughout her illustrious career.

“I started working at 14, and I've grown up on camera and in front of people, so that's really exposing, but at the same time, it's my path," she shared.

Kidman continued:

“I've shared my ups and downs with the world and also shared all of my work."

"That's been my life...my children, my husband, and my work.”

Kidman has been happily married to country music star Keith Urban since 2006. They have two daughters together, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret.

When the media outlet asked what advice Kidman would give to her younger self, the actor replied:

"Be kind to yourself. I'm my toughest critic. My biggest thing would be 'Go easy on yourself, Nicky.'"

Kidman's nostalgic video post came after the Institute's 2023 announcement that the Hollywood star would receive the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award.

The Institute noted she is the first Australian actor to receive the AFI Life Achievement Award.

The AFI praised the actor and said of her:

"Nicole Kidman has captured the imaginations of audiences throughout her prolific career, delivering complex and versatile performances onscreen."

"Seamlessly moving between independent and studio films, Kidman has earned a reputation for her extraordinary talent, commitment to her craft and desire to work with auteur filmmakers including Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Baz Luhrmann, Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Lars von Trier, Aaron Sorkin and Stanley Kubrick."

The event, originally scheduled for last year, will take place on April 27 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.