Kidman to play transsexual, Theron to play wife

You have to hand it to Nicole Kidman. In her career, the Aussie actress has juxtaposed standard Hollywood fare (often box-office disasters) with challenging, non-traditional roles in independent films with little to no commercial appeal. For every Cold Mountain, there's a Birth, where she played a woman convinced her dead husband had been reincarnated into the body of a 10-year-old boy; or a Dogville, the Lars Von Trier's three-hour melodrama on human nature at its worst; or a Fur, an "imaginary portrait" of famed photographer Diane Arbus that saw her lover, Robert Downey Jr., covered head-to-toe in hair. Even her Oscar-winning role as Virginia Woolf in The Hours was a bit of a gamble.

But now Kidman may face her loftiest challenge yet: playing the world's first post-op transsexual woman, married to fellow Oscar winner Charlize Theron in The Danish Girl, to be directed by Anand Tucker (Hilary and Jackie, Shopgirl). It wouldn't be the first time a female star has played a transsexual, however (Felicity Huffman was Oscar-nominated for her role in 2005's Transamerica).

The film, adapted from David Ebershoff's novel, recounts the real-life story of Danish artists Einar (Kidman) and Greta (Theron) Wegener, whose marriage was turned on its head when Einar innocently sat in to replace a female model Greta was painting. Einar began to pose as a woman more and more often for his wife, leading to his transformation and historic surgical operation in 1931 to become a woman. Long story short: This film will not be a typical day at the movies. No production or release date has been revealed.

The Danish Girl is but one of the many prestigious projects Kidman has lined up. The star has the epic romance Australia coming on Nov. 26, which has recently come under fire for its purported running time (nearly three hours) and news that director Baz Luhrmann had to re-edit the film's ending after it tested poorly in screenings.

Beyond that, the first picture of the star-studded musical Nine has been leaked. The film, directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago), is a musical retelling of Fellini's classic 8 1/2 and boasts one of the most impressive casts in recent memory: Daniel Day-Lewis, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard, Kate Hudson and, uh, Stacy Ferguson. As in Fergie, of "My Humps" fame/infamy. No, really.

Among her several rumored projects, the star is also said to be keen on playing the drug-addicted, bisexual music legend Dusty Springfield.

Related links:
News: Kate Hudson joins the Nine cast
Review: Margot at the Wedding
Trailer Stash: Australia, Benjamin Button and Seven Pounds

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