Nicole Kidman Gets Candid About Her Worst On-screen Kiss: ‘Bad Breath Does Not Turn Me On’

Gabrielle RocksonThu, March 12, 2026 at 10:49 AM UTC

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Alexander Skarsgård and Nicole Kidman in 'Big Little Lies' in 2017Credit: Hbo/Kobal/Shutterstock -

Nicole Kidman opened up about her biggest on-set faux pas during the March 11 episode of the Las Culturistas podcast

The 58-year-old said fresh breath was "very important" to her when she was expected to kiss a costar

Kidman went on to reveal one incident when her Big Little Lies costar Alexander Skarsgård had eaten a falafel sandwich just before a kissing scene, which she wasn't happy about

Nicole Kidman is keeping it real about bad breath!

Appearing on the latest episode of the Las Culturistas podcast, released Wednesday, March 11, Kidman, 58, opened up about how she struggled to kiss Big Little Lies costar Alexander Skarsgård, 49, after he ate a falafel sandwich.

“I'm like, 'No, no, no, Alex,'" the star quipped.

“'I'm meant to be into you and kissing you — put away the falafel now because the bad breath does not turn me on,'” Kidman recalled.

Alexander Skarsgård and Nicole Kidman during the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaCredit: Frazer Harrison/Getty

The Perfect Couple star went on to say that the taste and smell of a costar's mouth was “very important” to her.

She continued, “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.’”

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Continuing on the topic, Kidman said that bad breath was the ultimate dealbreaker for 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.'"

She continued: "If I say, ‘Breathe on me,’ and I have to recoil, yikes, I'm out. You could not offer me enough money."

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Kidman added that she was “relieved” when she lost her sense of smell after COVID due to it being her most heightened sense.

Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgård in 'Big Little Lies' in 2017Credit: HBO

“Finally, I was free,” she said.

Elsewhere in the podcast, Kidman discussed the famous person she'd met that smelled "the best ever," disclosing that it was singer Rihanna.

The Australian actress called the "Umbrella" singer's scent "Intoxicating."

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

Kidman’s fun podcast appearance came after she broke her silence about her divorce from husband Keith Urban for the first time.

"I am, because I’m always going to be moving toward what’s good," she told Variety in an interview published on March 11, when asked if she was "doing all right" in the months following her separation.

"What I’m grateful for is my family and keeping them as is and moving forward. That’s that," she continued. "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; the former couple finalized their divorce on Jan. 6. The Practical Magic star and country singer share two daughters: Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 15.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”