The wild reason Nicole Kidman drank an entire glass of milk while accepting the Best Actress award at 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 on Tuesday night.
The Hollywood star, 57, received the prestigious gong from her The Perfect Couple co-star Liev Schreiber, who played her husband.
She was recognized in the Best Actress category for her new age gap romance film Babygirl, which has been much talked about since its release on Christmas Day.
During her acceptance speech, Nicole drank an entire glass of milk while standing on stage at the prestigious Cipriani 42nd Street venue.
While she may have left some stunned by her wild action, it was actually a nod to a now-viral scene from Babygirl.
In the film, Nicole plays married corporate boss Romy, who falls in love with her young intern Samuel, played by 28-year-old Harris Dickinson, and they embark on a steamy affair.
Nicole Kidman caused a stir when she downed an entire glass of milk while on stage accepting the Best Actress award at the 2025 National Board of Review Gala
But during her acceptance speech, Nicole made a rather unusual move: she drank an entire glass of milk while standing on stage at the prestigious Cipriani 42nd Street venue.
The film contains a whole host of very raunchy scenes, but one in particular has gone viral on social media – and bizarrely it involved a glass of milk.
In the now infamous scene, Samuel has already noticed Romy when they go for a drink with their colleagues after work.
Romy is offered a glass of milk by a waiter and she realizes that Samuel ordered the drink for her, prompting her to drink the entire glass as he watches.
As he walks out of the bar, Samuel whispers to her, “Good girl,” setting the stage for the intense power play dynamic in their budding relationship.
Surprisingly, this isn’t the only scene with milk in the film, as Romy also seductively licks milk off a plate at another point, before Samuel then sucks it off her lip.
And Nicole made a cheeky reference to the headlines at the National Board of Review Gala as she downed another whole glass of milk.
In a nod to her character’s flirty exchange, Nicole held up a glass of milk to show the audience before boldly swallowing it on stage.
She then proudly held her empty glass to the audience during the awards ceremony, which rewarded the best films of the year.
Nicole held up a glass of milk and gestured to the audience, before boldly swallowing it on stage in an unexpected move
While she may have left some stunned by her wild action, it was actually a nod to a now-viral scene from her movie Babygirl — for which she was recognized at the awards ceremony.
In the now infamous scene, Nicole’s character Romy drinks an entire glass of milk in a bar (pictured) during a flirty conversation with her younger intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson)
The Hollywood star, 57, received the prestigious gong from her The Perfect Couple husband Liev Schreiber at Tuesday night’s ceremony
Nicole recently spoke about the recurring use of milk in Babygirl’s sex scenes and how it’s 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 she had to drink around 16 glasses of milk while filming the iconic bar scene.
She admitted that her first thought upon reading the scene was ‘how many glasses of milk should I drink?’, before adding: ‘I think it was maybe 15 or 16.’
Director Halina Reijn has also revealed what inspired the sensual milking scene, revealing that something similar happened to her when she was in her 30s.
Halina, 49, remembers going for a drink after one of her performances when a famous Belgian actor – who she noted was “much, much 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 man get the courage?’ I found it very sensual to do. And I thought it was very funny.’
Nicole’s role in Babygirl is widely considered her most erotic yet, but the Big Little Lies star was far from shocked 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 show
That evening, Nicole cut a sophisticated figure in a black dress with white detailing around the cuffs and neckline
“What attracted me to the film is that it is in the woman’s voice,” she shared on The Graham Norton Show.
“A lot of films in this genre that we saw in the 1990s came from the male perspective, but this is twisted and told through the lens of a woman.”
Host Graham asked her if she was hesitant about filming the sex scenes, but Nicole insisted she was just turned on and wanted to step outside her “comfort zone.”
“I loved the script, I love supporting women in the industry, and it was just really good. It’s exciting and daring, and I’m always looking to step out of my comfort zone,” she shared.
However, the erotic scenes in Babygirl were not without their challenges, as Nicole admitted that at one point she had to pause filming the intense scenes.
According to The Sun, she said: ‘There was a huge amount of sharing and trust and then frustration. It’s like, ‘Don’t touch me.’
“There were times when we were filming and I thought, ‘I don’t want to have an orgasm anymore.’ Don’t come near me. I hate doing this.”
In Babygirl, Nicole stars as married corporate boss Romy who falls in love with her young intern Samuel, played by Harris Dickinson, 28, and they embark on a steamy affair.
”I don’t care if I’m never touched again in my life! I’m over it.” For me it was so present all the time that it almost looked like a burnout.’
The cast met with an intimacy coordinator for the spicy scenes and Nicole believes she was able to play the spicy moments because Halina was a female director.
She said, “It’s the story I wanted to be a part of, that I wanted to tell, and every part of me was committed to that. An enormous amount of care has been taken by all of us.’
Nicole hasn’t 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.