Nicole Kidman Says Playing Lucille Ball Is ‘Way out of My Comfort Zone’

Nicole Kidman has played many characters throughout her acting career, but portraying the late comedian Lucille Ball may be her most challenging role to date. In a recent interview, the actor opened up about starring as Ball in Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming biopic Being the Ricardos. Though playing Ball in the film is a tremendous honor, embodying the iconic actor hasn’t been an easy process for Kidman as it’s made her feel way out of her comfort zone.

Nicole Kidman felt pressure to play Lucille Ball as soon as she was cast in the role

It’s a lot of pressure to portray someone as great as the legendary Lucille Ball. The I Love Lucy actor was adored by many, not only because she was an iconic comedian but due to the fact that she was one of the most talented people the entertainment industry has ever seen.

Because Ball was such an icon, many have high hopes for the upcoming biopic about her life, and Nicole Kidman, who is portraying the late actor, in the film, is definitely feeling the heat.

When it was announced that the Bombshell actor was cast as Ball in the upcoming film Being the Ricardos, I Love Lucy fans were quick to slam this decision. Instead of Kidman playing Ball, many thought that Debra Messing was a better choice, given her spot-on portrayal of the “Lucy” character doing the Vitameatavegamin commercial in an episode of Will & Grace.

Now that Kidman is currently filming the movie, she feels even more pressure to do Ball justice with her portrayal, which, according to the actor, hasn’t been easy in the slightest.

The actor says portraying Lucille Ball makes her feel like she’s ‘free-falling’

In June 2021, Kidman opened up about portraying Ball while sitting down with Chris Rock for Variety. During the conversation, the Australian actor revealed that this role is unlike anything she’s done before.

“I am way out of my comfort zone right now, Chris,” Kidman said. “I’m free-falling. … I’d like to be funny. I’m never cast funny.”

Kidman admitted that she has faced a few challenges portraying Ball, noting that she had to do a lot of “homework” to make her portrayal believable.

“The great thing about an accent is you can always go and fix it in looping,” Kidman said. “So in an accent, I’ll put the time in. I’ve had to put in an enormous amount of time on Lucille Ball right now because she has a very particular way of speaking.”

The Nine Perfect Strangers actor added that she’s “hopefully” funny in the role.

Nicole Kidman’s Lucille Ball portrayal is ‘astounding,’ says Lucie Arnaz

Nicole Kidman’s upcoming performance as Lucille Ball may still be in the works, but it’s already gotten the ultimate approval from the late actor’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz.

In a recent interview with Palm Springs Life, Arnaz said that she visited the Being the Ricardos set for two days and saw up-close how great a performer Kidman really is.

“Nicole did a spectacular job,” Arnaz said. “The two days that I watched, though, were both little flashbacks, so she was playing Lucy in the late ’30s and mid-’40s. She wasn’t Lucy of Lucy Ricardo fame yet, so it was a trifle different.”

She added, “And I know she meant it to be, so it could feel different. But boy, what she did was astounding. She’s got such poise and class.”