Nicole Kidman Made A Risky Health Decision For Her Latest Movie

Well, now Nicole Kidman has begun a rather unsafe practice for her new role as Lucille Ball.

By James Brizuela | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

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Nicole Kidman has been in the acting world for around 40 years, taking on different roles of different calibers, often changing her thick Australian accent to make herself sound more “American.” Well, now Kidman has begun a rather unsafe practice for her new role as Lucille Ball. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz had one of the most storied relationships on and off the screen, and now Amazon has released a biographical drama about their lives, called Being the Ricardos. To nail the role of Ball, Kidman decided to start smoking to ensure her deep smoker’s voice would be prominent in the role of Lucille Ball.

Lucille Ball was well known for her smoker’s voice, and Nicole Kidman stated that there would be no way she could nail that voice without smoking. Her Australian accent can only go so far, so taking up smoking was part of her “training” in becoming the I Love Lucy actress. Kidman opened up about the ordeal in an interview about nailing the role, stating it would be “impossible” for her to nail the “deep smoker’s voice” without first actually smoking. Hopefully, Nicole Kidman is able to break away from the habit after the film-wrapped production.

Being the Ricardos follows the life and drama of both I Love Lucy stars, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The story focuses in particular on their working relationship and the hardships both faced with having to produce arguably one of the most popular TV series in the history of television. Aaron Sorkin has written the film which was released on Amazon Prime Video on December 10, 2021. Aaron Sorkin is a famous screenwriter and director of such TV series and films as A Few Good Men, The West Wing, and The Social Network. Nicole Kidman stars as Lucille Ball with famed Spanish actor Javier Bardem playing Desi Arnaz.

nicole kidman
Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball

Being the Ricardos was initially announced back in 2015, with Cate Blanchett being pegged in the main role of Lucille Ball, but as of 2021, she had dropped out of the film and Nicole Kidman was asked to step in. Kidman had her doubts about playing this role, but it appeared to pay off as she is now being favored for a Golden Globe award and Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Actress. She revealed in the same interview that she felt “maybe [she’s] not the right person” for this part. Kidman made claims that she knows all too well about aging in Hollywood and claims that around age 40 “the door is shut on you.” She is currently 54 years old.

Despite Nicole Kidman’s doubts about the role, Aaron Sorkin provided full confidence in her joining the project, stating that she was “perfect for the part.” That is clearly the case being that she is already being considered for two Best Actress awards. Kidman is a bit of a method actor as well, and as such, provides the best performances due to her wanting to step outside the box for roles she is given. Hopefully taking up smoking has no ill effects on Kidman’s health going forward.