For any performer hoping to deliver a strong performance, preparation is essential. An actor has to have a thorough understanding of the character in order to perform their duties effectively. They must embody the character’s feelings and give them life.
It might be challenging for an actor to depict a fictional character with accuracy. Yet, it might be more difficult if the character they are portraying is based on a real person who may have had a well-known career.
Lucille Ball was revived by Nicole Kidman for the 2021 film “Being the Ricardos.” Ball’s image from the cherished comedy “I Love Lucy” was accurately recreated. She not only had to do a challenging assignment but also portray a different Ball than what the audience would see—the actual Ball, not simply the one from the comedy.
Kidman used two separate strategies to be ready for this part. In an interview with NPR, she stated, “So there was the I Love Lucy show, and I just thought, well, if I can literally create a carbon copy of her in the show where I look like her, I move like her, I sound like her, all of those things — and I really studied that for months, like watching it, rewinding, starting again, getting the timing, working on it, working on it, working on the sounds with my dialect coach, if that can be accurate, then as Aaron said, with the sexuality, with messy hair, with all the things that do not make you go, oh, right, that looks exactly like her.
There’s a feeling of her, but there’s a human being here.” Kidman was referring to the film’s director, Aaron Sorkin. He gave her advice when she was preparing for the role. He told her that he wanted her to play Ball, but not as an exact replica. Kidman took his advice and prepared for the role extensively- it paid off in the end. She won a Golden Globe for the portrayal.
Several of Kidman and Ball’s viewers of the trailer and the film praised Kidman for her performance. Nicole Kidman “totally nails this part,” one user commented. She rendered Lucile Ball a valuable service!
Totally adored it, another person wrote. Nicole does an outstanding job of engrossing the audience in the film. Have you yet seen “Being the Ricardos”? How effective do you believe Nicole Kidman was as Ball?
