Nicole Kidman admitted she experienced some self-doubt after hearing criticism about her being cast as Lucille Ball in Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos.”
On Monday’s “Today,” Kidman was asked if she gave “any space” to early critiques about her landing the role of the legendary comedic actress, including whether or not she looks enough like Ball to portray her.
“Try not to, but [I’m] a human being, so there’s times when you go, ‘Gosh, maybe I’m not the right person for this.’ But that’s where having somebody like Aaron, who really said at the beginning, it was like, ‘I’m not wanting a perfect rendition or imitation of Lucy. No, no, no, no, no,’” Kidman said.
The Oscar-winner said that the material in the script resonated with her. Some of the career struggles Ball faced in Hollywood are ones Kidman, too, has dealt with.
“A lot of it I can relate to, and I go ‘Ah, OK, I’ve been in that situation. I know that,’” she said. She cited, for example, a scene from “Being the Ricardos” where Lucy is given an ageist critique.
“There’s a scene in it where they say, ‘You’re 39, and that’s it. It’s kind of over for you.’ I know that feeling. I sort of had that,” Kidman said.
Just like Ball, Kidman found rewarding work in different mediums.
“Where television suddenly opened a door for her, it opened a door for me. Around the same age,” the “Big Little Lies” actress said. “I was like, ‘Gosh, that’s kind of — I know that feeling really deeply.’”
