NIcole Kidman will soon become a mainstay on the big screen. Set to star in several films in the next several months, she will play a taxidermist villainess, an actress-turned princess, and a mysterious amnesiac–and that’s not all either. She plays the wife of World War II veteran Eric Lomax, who helps her husband confront his past as a prisoner of war in Thailand, where he worked on the “death railway,” a 258-mile stretch of treacherous train track running into Burma. That film is called The Railway Man and it hits theaters on April 11th.

During a recent interview Kidman was asked how she learned to play the roles of real women–especially Patti Lomax, the wife of Eric Lomax.

“Patti is different because she’s still alive and was able to give me information about herself. I didn’t meet her until I started filming. Everyone kept saying, “Do you want to meet her?” I was like, “No, I’d really like to be able to watch her in an interview.” Actually, the producer sat with her for hours — he’s a very good friend of hers — and taped her and sent me the tapes. I basically had access to her whole life, stories about her, her mannerisms and behavior, like I was a fly on the wall,” Kidman explained.

Colin Firth plays Eric Lomax in the film, but that’s not the only upcoming movie he and Nicole Kidman star in together. They also costar in Before I Go to Sleep and Paddington. Nicole was asked what it is about the actor that prompts her to continue to work with him.

“I just enjoy him,” she said. “I really enjoy his brain and his talent, but he has a really great sense of humor. Me and millions of other women in the world go, “Wow! Colin Firth!” My mom adores him. My sister adores him. I’ve just got so many friends who go, “Oh my gosh. Colin Firth.” I now know him in a different way, but I have such respect for him as an actor.”

In addition to all the talk about her upcoming films, Nicole Kidman was also asked about her family life with husband Keith Urban, and how she balances being an actress, a wife and a mother.

“Every time when we’re not working, we spend together,” she said. “That’s it. It’s that simple. We’re not off. We have a very simple life but an extraordinary creative life, if that makes sense. I’m lucky that I’ve got a partner that’s totally committed to making it work. We have two little girls that we adore, and we’re very blessed, in the sense of having a family. We certainly talk about everything. We make the decisions together.”

They’ve definitely made some good ones. Keith Urban has his lucrative recording and performing career and is a judge on American Idol. Nicole Kidman is flying high with all these films–and more–debuting within the next year.

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