Nicole Kidman’s buzzy new role as Dr. Kay Scarpetta has reignited a decades-long feud between her and Angelina Jolie, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Aussie star, 58, is earning early raves for her performance on the Amazon Prime crime thriller Scarpetta, based on Patricia Cornwell’s bestselling series about a medical examiner who solves murders in her spare time.
Angie Fumes After Losing Role
Sources said Nicole Kidman’s role as Dr. Kay Scarpetta reignited reported tensions with Angelina Jolie.
But Jolie, 50, who has long wanted to play the role, is seeing red after losing it to Kidman.
“Angie is angry and says the project was ‘stolen’ from her,” said a source. “But the truth is she got outplayed because Nicole understands the current film and TV industry better,” dished the insider. “By comparison, Angie lives in a bit of a bubble.”
Aloof and somewhat arrogant, she doesn’t court Hollywood’s movers and shakers the way Kidman does. “Angelina is beautiful and culturally important, and she’s wonderful at playing various versions of herself,” said the insider. And of course, she has impeccable credentials and is admired for her philanthropy, but Kidman is the better businesswoman.
And it’s helped the Babygirl star that she’s created a giant television operation – over the last 10 years, she’s worked with a team of executives to bring a long series of prestige hits, including Big Little Lies, The Undoing, Nine Perfect Strangers, The Perfect Couple, Lioness and Expats, to fruition, with more projects in development.
Longtime Rivalry Reignites Again
Jolie ‘believed the ‘Scarpetta’ project was taken from her’ after Kidman landed the role.
“Scarpetta could become a new peak for Nicole, and she’s already chomping at the bit to dive back into the Big Little Lies universe with Reese Witherspoon. She does not stop,” said the source.
Kidman “stealing” the Scarpetta role from Jolie is just the latest chapter in a rivalry that kicked off when Jolie replaced Kidman opposite Brad Pitt in 2005’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the movie that changed the course of the Maleficent star’s life.
The source said: “The dark dynamic between Angelina and Nicole goes back years.
“They both came on the scene around the same time, but Angelina was from a Hollywood family, and Kidman was an Australian who made her own luck and broke through by capturing Tom Cruise’s attention.”
Past Sides Still Divide
A source said Kidman outpaced Angelina Jolie by navigating Hollywood deals more strategically over time.
Fueling Jolie’s fury is her belief that Kidman always sided with Jennifer Aniston in the long-running battle over Pitt.
According to the source: “Angie has never gotten over the fact that Nicole was Team Jen. She felt very unfairly judged at the time, and she’s never let that go.”
