Nicole Kidman Confirms What We Suspected All Along About Her Role As Lucille Ball
Nicole Kidman's big debut as Lucille Ball is finally here, as Amazon Prime releases "Being the Ricardos." The film follows the lives of Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz as they navigate marriage, fame, and their iconic roles of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo in 1957's "I Love Lucy." Kidman's casting as the legendary comedian didn't sit right with fans, despite critics predicting an Oscar nomination for the "Bombshell" actor in their rave reviews. The internet quickly came to the defense of "Will & Grace" actor Debra Messing, claiming the sitcom star was the obvious choice to play Ball thanks to her similar look.
"What I needed was a great dramatic actress with a dry sense of humor and a facility with language, and Nicole has all of that," director of the film Aaron Sorkin told USA Today. Sorkin wasn't the only one coming to Kidman's defense. Daughter of Ball and Arnaz, Lucie Arnaz, snapped back at fans in a Facebook Live, according to Entertainment Weekly, where she set the record straight on the casting choice. "We're not doing a remake of 'I Love Lucy.' No one has to impersonate Lucy Ricardo [or do] any of the silly things. It's the story of Lucille Ball, my actual mother — not Lucy Ricardo — and her husband, Desi Arnaz, my dad — not Ricky Ricardo," she said.
Despite the backlash, Kidman pushed forward taking on the role of Ball and is now opening up about her decision to accept the lead in "Being the Ricardos."
Nicole Kidman 'didn't realise' what went into playing Lucille Ball
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Nicole Kidman revealed details behind the moment she accepted the role of Lucille Ball and confirmed the gig was done somewhat on a whim.
"I am actually glad I didn't realise, as it is with anything in life it is better not to know ahead of time what you are going into," Kidman began. The actor then admitted she committed to play Ball "without thinking it through," telling the outlet, "'I think I have a screw loose where I am not able to go, 'yikes, be careful'. I don't have that, that is not part of my makeup." The "Big Little Lies" star shared similar sentiments with USA Today, revealing that after she said "yes," it finally hit that she had a difficult task ahead and was "terrified."
"It was like trying to use everything in your arsenal as an actor," she said. "I was going to have to stretch in a massive way." Kidman's process behind becoming Ball included watching hours of footage of "I Love Lucy," reading through Ball and Desi Arnaz's biographies, and a little pep talk from director Aaron Sorkin. "I had massive trepidation about a month prior, and Aaron had to get on the phone and send me emails saying, 'You've got this,'" the star told Variety. "I fell in love with her as I was reading the script... I realized what she was doing [was] trailblazing for women."