Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman screamed and feared for her life as a paparazzo photographer chased her car across Sydney, an Australian court heard yesterday.

The actress's asset manager said he was driving Kidman to her parents' home nearly three years ago when they found themselves in a terrifying pursuit in which celebrity photographer Jamie Fawcett was also involved.

"She was fearing for her life and she said someone is going to get killed," John Manning told the court in Sydney, adding that Kidman said: "This has to stop. Call the police."

Manning said he was forced to swerve when Fawcett's jeep drove over a median strip during the chase in January 2005, drawing terrified screams from the red-headed movie star.

Manning was giving evidence in a defamation lawsuit brought against an Australian newspaper by Fawcett in which Kidman has been summonsed to testify, despite her busy schedule shooting Baz Luhrmann's new drama "Australia".

A jury has already found that an article in the Sun Herald newspaper defamed Fawcett, and Judge Carolyn Simpson is now considering defences brought forward by the paper's publishers John Fairfax. Manning was called to give evidence by Fairfax.

Kidman, the 40-year-old star of films including "Moulin Rouge" and "The Hours", may be available to give evidence in the case on Monday, the court was told.

She was subpoenaed despite reportedly asking that she be allowed to give evidence over a video link or at the weekend to avoid disrupting her filming schedule, the Daily Telegraph said.

Kidman and Fawcett have reportedly had run-ins in the past. In 2005, Kidman sought a restraining order against Fawcett days after a listening device was allegedly found in bushes outside her Sydney mansion.

But in June this year, prosecutors dropped charges against Fawcett in connection with the alleged bug, declining however to say why the charges had been withdrawn.