Nicole Kidman on ‘Secret in Their Eyes’ Role, Losing a Parent and Her ‘Joy’

— -- In the new film “Secret in Their Eyes,” actress Nicole Kidman plays a district attorney, a role which was new for her and gave her the chance to work with another Oscar-winning actress, Julia Roberts.

In an interview with ABC News’ Elizabeth Vargas, Kidman said her reaction after reading the script was: “‘I'd so love to work with (director) Billy (Ray), but I'd also love to work with Julia.’”

She said Roberts “gives gut-wrenching performance” in the film.

Kidman, 48, now appears on stage in London in the play “Photograph 51.” She plays a scientist, and has dedicated that performance to her father, Antony, who died last year.

“It was this confluence of events where it was my father's death, and I was standing on stage in front of, you know, 1,000 people, performing a play that I'd told him I was going to do for him. So,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Life, right?”

Kidman is still dealing with her grief.

“When you're a very, very close family and you lose a parent, the family is in such disarray for a long time, you know, in such pain. So this is also a gift to my mom,” she said.

Kidman was last on stage 17 years ago. She also got glowing responses from audiences in London and New York back then for her performance in the play “The Blue Room,” in which she appeared nude.

One critic called the production “pure theatrical Viagra.”

“At the time I didn't know if that was a compliment or not, because I didn't know what Viagra was,” she said, laughing.

When Vargas asked her why it took her so long to come back to the stage, Kidman replied: “Life. Children. I mean, it is a very, very hard thing to do a play. To not be there for that period of time of bedtime, that is a huge...”

Kidman and her country music singer husband Keith Urban have two young daughters, 4-year-old Faith Margaret and 7-year-old Sunday Rose.

“That's why I didn't do it before. And, you know, they're like, ‘We can't wait for it to end,’” she said, laughing.

Kidman -- who also has two adult children from her previous marriage to actor Tom Cruise -- lives with Urban in Nashville.

The city is “very, very different from Hollywood,” she said, adding that it is “a lot like” her native Australia.

“I could live anywhere, really, as long as I had Keith and my kids,” she said. “I mean, that's really where my joy is. I'm so fortunate. I've -- you know, I've met somebody that I'm incredibly in love with. It's very much about commitment. And we don't ever take it for granted.”