Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock on Fearlessness, Old Red Carpets and Sequels in Vogue's "Off the Cuff"

Icebreakers: healing, ice cream and accents

The first question asked Kidman which superpower she would want. She said she would like to be able to heal and to be "a great healer," which she called a beautiful superpower.

Asked to order one thing for the table, the answer was ice cream. When challenged about starting with dessert, the answer was defended on the grounds that the question said "for the whole table." The idea grew into a full selection of ice creams with toppings, eaten with very long spoons.

On the hardest word to say in an American accent, the answer was anything with R's. "Surreptitious" was offered as a test, and they traded attempts at it. One of them noted that the other had moved from an R sound to a T sound. There was also a comment that one of them sounded a little Southern, which drew the reply "from Texas." They also mentioned memes of Australians saying "Oh, no" and said the phrase back and forth.

The last icebreaker drew on the abilities of Sally, Bullock's Practical Magic character: what spell would you cast on yourself? The answer was fearlessness. The other actor pointed out, "You always say that," and insisted the speaker already is fearless. The response was that the first instinct is always to be scared, and that pushing through happens mostly because there is no choice but to do it.

Personal questions: worry, snacks and a '90s wardrobe

Asked what they wish they had known earlier, one of them said "everything," and then put it this way: "No one cares, so why did I care so much?" They made clear this was meant positively, not morbidly. They had spent a lot of time stressing about what others thought, when nobody was really thinking about them. They linked this to the earlier answer about fearlessness. The other actor said this explains their own habit of reassuring their co-star that "it's okay," which drew a joke about being "in the corner rocking."

Kidman's choice of an Australian snack she wishes were sold in the US was Tim Tams, though she noted they already are. That led to Vegemite. Kidman was surprised she had never given Bullock any, and Bullock replied that Kidman had given her "nothing but grief." Kidman promised the "Aussie package." She also recalled a candy called the Polly Waffle, with marshmallow in the middle and a biscuit-like shell. Bullock said yes to that one.

The most aggressively '90s item still owned was slip dresses, specifically Galliano slip dresses, which the speaker called "a really good item," adding, "It is Vogue." Asked how long they had known each other, they joked about it: "a week," "over a year."

Talking to kids who don't text back

Asked who they talk to most on a given day, one answered "myself," then the dogs, then the kids, then their sister. The other said their kids, many times a day when they are not together. Both described children who are now in an independent stage but still text "Where are you?" in a way they called demanding. They noted the imbalance: a parent who doesn't reply right away is "in trouble," but the kids can ignore texts all day. Both agreed they have kids like that.

Sequels, Hugh Grant and an obsession with Dune

Asked which film besides Practical Magic they would want to make a sequel to, one pointed out that sequels are hard to make and you want to make them with people you have great chemistry with. Bullock said she would like to work with Hugh Grant again, calling him "so brilliant," and brought up Two Weeks Notice. Kidman liked the idea, said she would buy a ticket, and suggested Bullock and Grant write it since they are both writers. Bullock corrected her: Grant is a writer, and she is not.

Kidman said she would love to be in the Dune sequel, describing herself as "a Dune-y" who is "obsessed with Dune." Asked why she isn't in it, she said "Denis never asked me to be in anything" and called that devastating. She then said she doesn't actually want to be in it, because she wants to be able to watch the films. When Bullock suggested she wouldn't like the sand, Kidman said she likes the sand, though not in her face.

Asked who else they would like to work with, besides each other, the answer was other women. The speaker said they love the camaraderie, sharing things, and being "in it together."

Bullock's childhood dream of comedy

Bullock said she wanted to be a comedian when she grew up, naming Carol Burnett and Jerry Lewis. Growing up in Germany, she watched Italian and French films with the sound off so she could focus on the physicality. What drew her was anything that uses humor and the body to tell a story. She said her German mother had "no sense of humor" but would laugh hard if Bullock fell. Tripping over things made her mother laugh, and Bullock said she always wanted to be a funny person.

Living in Satine's wardrobe

Asked which character's wardrobe she would live in, Kidman said her personality changes all the time, but probably Satine from Moulin Rouge!. She still has the top hat in storage and said she was planning to give it to the Academy's museum. Bullock suggested taking it out and displaying it at home with a spotlight for a while, and joked, "You can leave your hat on."

Guess the look: red carpets revisited

In the next segment, each identified photos of their own past looks.

Kidman recognized a gold Galliano gown she wore to the Academy Awards, though she didn't remember the year. She described the gloves as 24-karat gold with tiny stones she thought were rubies, said a jeweler had to make them, and confirmed she kept them.

Bullock identified her "goth look" from the Forces of Nature premiere. She had gone braless without realizing how loosely the knit was woven, and said she was freeing the nipple "before the nipple was being freed." Her parents were at that premiere.

Kidman couldn't place one of her photos at first, then recalled that the top was by an Australian designer. She said it was a cool top and that she should bring it back, along with the beaded bracelets.

A Two Weeks Notice photo of Bullock with Grant made her call her pose "a deer in the headlights." A photo from the Practical Magic premiere prompted Kidman to tease Bullock about her feet and joke that "Sandy's going on OnlyFans," which Bullock ignored.

The Oscars night Bullock doesn't remember

One photo showed Bullock at the Academy Awards in a red dress. She said she doesn't remember that night at all. Her son Louis was a newborn, she had had about two hours of sleep, and he had acid reflux. She said she messed up while presenting: she couldn't read the copy and didn't know whom she was presenting to. Her only memory is coming home for a feeding, being unable to get out of the dress, and lying in a chair with Louis. Kidman called it perfect, a picture of life-work balance. Bullock added that her Oscar came home and met Louis.

Kidman also recognized an "iconic" Balenciaga look that she still owns. She said she might let one of her daughters wear it, since they are all the same height. Another photo showed a Ralph Lauren look from what the speaker thought was one of their first Met Galas; they still have the coat and love it.

The fitting room: rapid either-or choices

The final round was quick binary questions:

Broom or vacuum: broom.
Hot or cold: hot.
Breakfast taco or slice of pizza: "a hard one," probably pizza.
Wave back at someone who wasn't waving at you, or hold a door for someone too far away: waving. The answerer is nearsighted and often thinks people are waving at them when they aren't, which they called embarrassing.
Introvert or extrovert: introvert, and the other said "same."
Love potion or invisibility spell: invisibility, "cuz love's already there."
Byron Bay or Big Sur: Byron, to jump in the ocean, though Big Sur is loved too.
Midnight margarita or midnight snack: midnight snack.
Nashville or New York: both.
Yes or no: yes. The answerer said, "I need to be more yes," and called it "a new me."

The session ended with a joke that once the video was posted, they would seem intelligent, witty, fun and fast, and "a little bit drunk and a little bit hot."