Nicole Kidman names and shames 'bad breath' co-star

Nicole Kidman has named and shamed her co-star who had "bad breath".

The Oscar winner revealed which leading man left her gagging when they shared a passionate scene, after explaining her biggest pet peeve.

"I cannot stand bad breath," Nicole, 58, told the Las Culturistas podcast in an interview published on Thursday.

"I mean, this is a dealbreaker for me. You could be the most gorgeous, gorgeous guy, and you come at me with bad breath, and I'm like, 'no.'" 

Her horror of halitosis was so extreme, she said, that "if I have to recoil, yikes! I'm out. You could not offer me enough money."

Finally, Nicole shared the actor who had left her with the biggest ick factor - Alexander Skarsgard, thanks to his aromatic lunch.

"When Alexander Skarsgard ate a falafel sandwich before we did the scenes in Big Little Lies, I'm like, 'No, no, no, Alex. I'm meant to be kissing you and into you - put away the falafel now,'" she recalled.

After explaining that "bad breath does not turn me on," Nicole told show hosts Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang that "the taste of the mouth and the smell of the mouth is very important" to her. 

The Scarpetta star added she was confident Alexander, 49, had got the message.

"I'm sure he did not eat a falafel ever again," she laughed. "I said, 'No more falafel. Nope. Not before you kiss, not before you make love!'"

Asked if there were any celebrities whose personal scent profile she appreciated, Nicole was quick to name Rihanna, describing the 38-year-old Diamonds singer's smell as "intoxicating".

"Rihanna," she raved. "We don't need to unravel it or decipher it, just know it's all true... It's intoxicating, it is like, 'I will follow you around.'"