Actor Nicole Kidman almost backed out of playing Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos, writer-director Aaron Sorkin’s unconventional biopic about the television icon, in which she stars opposite Javier Bardem. Kidman said on Live with Kelly and Ryan that when she made her feelings known, both Sorkin and producer Todd Black knocked some sense into her.

Being the Ricardos traces one week—from table read to taping—in the life of Ball and her real-life husband Desi Arnaz, as they go into production on an episode of I Love Lucy in 1952. Asked if she was anxious about playing Ball, Kidman said:

"I wasn't initially. 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.’ But then, when the reality of playing her hit me, 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.”

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Image via Amazon Studios

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When co-host Ryan Seacrest praised her acting choices, Kidman laughed that they are all “spontaneous” and “crazy.” She continued, “If you knew how random they are, and how spontaneous they are, you’d be like, ‘Man, you are walking…’”

Kidman wasn’t the first choice for the role; she came aboard when Cate Blanchett, who was said to be circling the project, dropped out. Criticism around Kidman’s casting mostly concerned her lack of physical resemblance to Ball. Sorkin defended his decisions in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying:

“We made this movie during COVID, and so in Zooming with Nicole and Javier and everyone else, I’d make it very clear to them that I am not looking for a physical or vocal impersonation of these people. Leading up to the first rehearsal, I’d write to them every day, 'Just play the characters who are in the script.’ I know that Nicole was working on Lucy’s voice for a while, and I wanted to relieve her of that. As far as audience anticipation, that’s something I’m just not worried about. I’m certain that when people see the movie, they’ll leave feeling that Nicole has made a very solid case for herself, but moreover, I’ve found that you can really leverage low expectations. I learned that with The Social Network. People assumed it was going to be a romantic comedy, where, like, Paul Rudd ‘friends' Drew Barrymore and they fall in love. And I just thought, ‘Great, they’re not expecting what they’re about to see.’”

Being the Ricardos is Sorkin’s second streaming release in as many years after Netflix picked up The Trial of the Chicago 7 from Paramount. The Oscar-winning writer isn’t a stranger to employing unconventional structures in his films about real-life figures. He previously utilized a similar approach in the Steve Jobs biopic, directed by Danny Boyle, and gave The Social Network a non-linear form.

Being the Ricardos also stars J.K. Simmons, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, Clarke Gregg, Nelson Franklin, John Rubinstein, Linda Lavin, Robert Pine, and Christopher Denham. The film is coming to theaters on December 10 and on Prime Video on December 21. You can watch the original interview here: