The Oscar-winning actress will portray the comedy legend opposite Javier Bardem as her then-husband and co-star Desi Arnaz in Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming movie ‘Being the Ricardos’ and she admitted the idea of the project was a “wonderful prospect”, even if the role is a bit daunting.
She said: “I was like, ‘Yeah, I would love to give it a go.’ With Aaron’s words and his direction and Javier … that’s kind of a wonderful prospect to, you know.
“But yikes, off we go. Give it a go. Try my best—see if I can do it.”
The ‘Undoing’ star has been watching old episodes of ‘I Love Lucy’ to prepare for the movie.
She added to Variety: “I love Lucille, having looked now and delved into her.
“She’s an amazing woman,” Kidman added. “I’m very excited for people to see what Aaron found out about her and the way he’s interpreted Desi and Lucy and the way that it’s so rich. I didn’t know any of this.”
The former couple’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz, 69, recently defended Nicole’s casting following objections from fans who felt the likes of Debra Messing or Carole Cook would have been better suited.
She said in a video shared to Facebook: “The contracts aren’t actually signed, which is why I haven’t said anything publicly about it. But I felt I should just at least try to calm the waters here.
“Here’s the deal. You should understand. We are not doing a remake of ‘I Love Lucy’. No one has to impersonate Lucy Ricardo nor do the Vitameatavegamin routine, or the chocolate factory routine or any of the silly things.
“It’s the story of Lucille Ball, my actual mother, not Lucy Ricardo, and her husband, Dezi Arnaz, my dad, not Ricky Ricardo.
“There will be humour in the film, but it is a story of the two of them and how they met and what went right with finding the show, what went wrong, their relationship, their love affair.
“Now, of course, it’s going to have ‘I Love Lucy’ in it — as a matter of fact, Aaron Sorkin has set it on the stage of a filming one week of rehearsal, rehearsing and filming the show — but all this other stuff takes place during that time.”
The movie is set during a week of production on ‘I Love Lucy’ – which aired for six seasons from 1951 to 1957 – when Lucille and Desi faced a crisis that could end both their careers and marriage.
MiNDFOOD Exclusive: Nicole Kidman on overcoming self-doubt in the spotlight
In our latest issue of MiNDFOOD, the actress shares why she’s finally comfortable in her own skin, and her passion for pursuing stories that put women both in front of and behind the camera.
