Nicole Kidman Speaks out After Controversy Over Being Cast as Lucille Ball in Upcoming Biopic

Nicole Kidman is ready for the role of a lifetime. The Oscar-winning actress was cast as Lucille Ball in Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming biopic, Being the Ricardos, opposite Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz. She told Variety Wednesday she was looking forward to embodying the iconic comedian, who made her name on I Love Lucy and forged a new path for women in comedy.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I would love to give it a go,’” Kidman told the outlet of taking on the role. “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.” Preparing for the film, Kidman said she has been watching plenty of I Love Lucy to get a feel for Ball’s mannerisms and style.

“I love Lucille, having looked now and delved into her,” she said. “She’s an amazing woman. 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.” When Kidman’s casting was announced earlier this month, there was a fair amount of controversy, as fans suggested celebrities like Debra Messing should have taken the role.

It got to the point where Ball and Arnaz’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz, took to her Facebook page to defend the film. “It’s a done deal,” she said on Jan. 17, explaining that the movie wasn’t a “remake” of I Love Lucy. “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,” she continued.

“Aaron has done a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life, and it’s just a little … a slice of life in their journey,” she continued. “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. I love all of you.”