Nicole Kidman has dropped out of a new movie after denying she is pregnant, it has been reported.
The Oscar-winning star was due to start work on post-World War II drama, The Reader, later this month.
But now sources on set say the actress has quit the film to protect her baby.
An insider told a US newspaper: “[She] is so concerned about the welfare of her unborn child that she’s taking a break from her film career and has dropped out of the film.”
A spokeswoman for Kidman, 40, last week dismissed reports she and country music star husband Keith Urban were to be parents as “unreliable gossip”.
The source continued: “Of course, everyone knows she’s pregnant and lying about it.”
Sources say producers of the Stephen Daldry directed film are now looking for a replacement leading lady to join Ralph Fiennes and Bruno Ganz and the largely German cast.
The film is based on Bernhard Schlink’s award-wining book about a man who carries a longtime sexual obsession for an older woman who’s later prosecuted for war crimes after it emerges she was a member of the SS and a guard at Auschwitz.
Matthew Frankel, a spokesman for the Weinstein Company, which is producing the film, told a US newspaper: “I am being told that the status on ‘The Reader’ has not changed.”
A spokeswoman for Kidman was unavailable for comment.
Meanwhile, a source at Vanity Fair also fuelled the pregnancy rumours after being overheard talking about re-scheduling the US magazine’s annual Hollywood issue. It features Tinseltown’s biggest stars dressed up for a lavish photo shoot.
According to the New York Post, the source said: “It’s because the costumes she’s set to wear won’t fit her much longer.”
Kidman fueled speculation she and Urban were planning to start a family together when the acrtress announced she was hoping to “wind down” her film commitments next year. She also recently expressed her desire to have a baby with the singer.
The Golden Compass star already has two adopted children, Isabella, 14, and Conor, 12, with ex-husband Tom Cruise.
Critics say it would be the perfect time for Kidman to take a break from Hollywood after her last three movies failed to generate much interest at the box office.
Sci-fi flick The Invasion, which cost $80 million USD, earned just $15 million USD in North America, while drama Margot at the Wedding took just over $1.8 million USD.
The Golden Compass, which cost $180 million USD, has earned just $59 million USD so far in North America.
Kidman is one of the best lead actress in Hollywood. Her recent films, the Invasion and the Golden Compass, have proven that she still has what is needed in great films – great acting and sexual appeal.
Comment by Andy Sedgwick — 20 Nov