Nicole Kidman is transforming into Lucille Ball for her role as the legendary comedienne in the biopic Being the Ricardos. The Oscar-winner is seen sporting Ball’s fiery, orange hair in new photos snapped of her on the set of the Aaron Sorkin-directed biographical film.
Being the Ricardos will tell the story of Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz, who starred in the popular 1951 sitcom I Love Lucy. The two were married from 1940 and split in 1960.
Kidman posted a photo from the closed set last week, saying that the film is currently in production.
“Currently in production ??? #BeingTheRicardos,” she shared.
Back in January, Kidman raved about playing Ball despite the casting controversy that ensued once news broke that she and Javier Bardem would be playing the iconic TV couple.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, I would love to give it a go,'” Kidman told Variety. “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.”
Kidman said she had been watching a lot of behind the scenes moments from I Love Lucy, including rehearsals from the sitcom.
“I love Lucille, having looked now and delved into her,” she said. “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.”
Kidman’s excitement over the role comes after Ball and Arnaz’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz, spoke out in a message on Facebook attempting to calm fans worked up about the casting of the film. Fans had taken to social media to suggest other actresses to portray Ball, while Debra Messing, who previously played Ball’s I Love Lucy character during an episode of Will & Grace, even campaigned for the part.
“Nobody has to impersonate Lucy Ricardo nor do the Vitameatavegamin 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,” Lucie explained.
“Aaron has done a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life, and it’s just a little … slice of life in their journey,” she shared. “It’s not the whole story. It’s not a biopic from cradle to grave. It is a two-hour feature film about these two people and some of the remarkable things they lived through. So I hope I can set the record straight here, and just say, stop arguing about who should play her, ‘She doesn’t look like her, her nose isn’t the same, she isn’t as funny…'”
“Just trust us, it’s going to be a nice film, and p.s. the voting is over,” Lucie added. “I love all of you.”
