Nicole Kidman Admits She Almost Dropped Her Role As Lucille Ball in ‘Being the Ricardos’: ‘What Have I Said Yes To?’
Nobody questions Nicole Kidman’s skill as an actor. But it turns out that even she questioned whether she was suitable for the role of Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos. Moreover, she admits in a recent interview that playing the American comedy legend was a challenge — and that she nearly stepped away from the role entirely.
Fan outcry began immediately after producers cast Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball in ‘Being the Ricardos’
According to Movieweb, the backlash came almost immediately after the announcement that Kidman would portray beloved television legend Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos. However, she says Aaron Sorkin stepped in with an explanation. Moreover, she says she wasn’t initially hesitant to take on the role.
“I wasn’t initially,” she said on Live With Kelly and Ryan, per Movieweb.”Initially, Aaron Sorkin wrote this screenplay that you read and you cannot put down. I say to people: ‘If you can get your hands on this screenplay, read it because it’s such a good read. It’s as good as a great novel.’”
Nicole Kidman says she subsequently developed concerns as public online forums criticized the casting decision.
“I went, ‘What have I said yes to?’ — to which I then went, ‘Oh no, I’m not right. Everyone thinks I’m not right so I’m going to try to sidestep this.’ And the producer Todd Black and Aaron Sorkin were both like, ‘Absolutely not.’ I was in Australia and they were like, ‘No.’ And thank God, because then I was so grateful because I got to fall in love with her.”
Cate Blanchett was initially set to play Lucille Ball in ‘Being the Ricardos’
Yet another serious actor planned to play the iconic goofball before Nicole Kidman signed on to the controversial role. Per Wikipedia, fellow Australian and Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett was the original 2015 choice for the role.
However, a number of changes took place before the film finally wrapped. For instance, Amazon Studios acquired the project in 2017. January 2021 saw Blanchett exit the project. She instead appears this year in Guillermo Del Toro’s noir mystery Nightmare Alley.
Producers quickly replaced her with the similarly acclaimed Nicole Kidman. They subsequently cast Javier Bardem as Ball’s husband, Desi Arnaz.
J. K. Simmons, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, Clark Gregg, and Nina Arianda likewise joined the cast in early 2021. The shoot began in March of 2021 in Los Angeles and wrapped by September of 2021.
Lucie Arnaz spoke out about the film and defended Nicole Kidman against the backlash
In an August 2021 interview with Palm Springs Life, Ball’s daughter Lucie Arnaz spoke out about the controversy surrounding Nicole Kidman and the film. And while she acknowledged that some scenes “weren’t accurate,” she also praised the lead performers and the production.
“I think they are accurate composites of these people,” Arnaz told the magazine. “And what I’ve seen of it… I haven’t seen any of the rushes, but I was on the set for just two days. What I saw was extraordinarily classy and first-rate. The people that he has cast are just really great performers.”
And that is certainly a welcome endorsement from somebody who knew ‘the Ricardos’ well.
