Nicole Kidman says being a mum helped her “feel” her latest character as a grieving mother in the gritty drama Rabbit Hole.

“Being a mother – and that’s the most terrifying thing as a parent [losing a child] – my ability to jump there psychologically was available, which is what you want as an actor because a lot of the times you don’t want to be forcing emotions or forcing an understanding a character,” she told a US chat show on Thursday.

“From the minute I read the character I could just feel her,” says Kidman, whose role in the critically acclaimed film, which she also produced, is generating lots of Oscar buzz.

Rabbit Hole, the story of a couple who lose their child, was adapted from David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name.

Kidman says turning the stage show into a big screen film became a labour of love, and admits that at one point she took a step back from the project.

“Four years ago … I read a review of the play and it was a beautiful review. We approached the playwright and he let us option the play,” she said.

“Then I got pregnant, because it takes a long time to make films, certain films, particularly a film like this … and I went, ‘I can’t go anywhere near this!’ Hormonally and everything else I was like, absolutely not,” she said.

“Then the financing became available and it was a confluence of events and everything came together and I went, ‘Do I run away or do I stay?’ Now we’ll see how committed I am, and I said, ‘I have to make it’.”

Kidman, who stars opposite Aaron Eckhart, has been hailed by critics for her performance and is tipped to land a best actress nomination when the 2011 Oscars are announced.