With each new update from Being The Ricardos, the Aaron Sorkin-helmed biopic comes new glimpses of Nicole Kidman channeling the Hollywood legend Lucille Ball. The latest look of Nicole, 53, as the I Love Lucy star came on Tuesday (Apr. 27), when she and co-star Javier Bardem were spotted on set. Nicole was in full costume, with red hair in tight curls to mimic Lucy. In the Long Beach, California sun, the red really shone through, making Nicole look more like the Ball than ever before. As for Javier, 52, he was dressed in a white tuxedo jacket, and black cummerbund, reminiscent of Desi Arnez’s outfit as Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy.
Nicole outfitted her costume – what appeared to be a magenta dress – with a puffer jacket to ward off the chill April air. Later, Nicole was spotted on set in a gold dress (along with the aforementioned puffer jacket.) This second instance gave onlookers a clean look at her makeup, and it was clear that someone was doing their homework. Nicole’s beauty mimicked that of Lucy and really helped her channel the late television pioneer.
The first shot of Nicole in red hair came in mid-April. She was reportedly spotted in a “shoulder-length wig” of red hair. The coloring on the wig was more vibrant, but it lacked Lucy’s traditional curls. Nicole also wore a cream-colored blouse, a pale green blazer, and brown slacks. This casual costume hinted that this scene was in a domestic setting, one away from the I Love Lucy set.
It’s unclear what Nicole or Javier were shooting since Being The Ricardos is not a complete, traditional biopic. Set in a single week in the 1950s, Being focuses on real-life couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez as they go from a Monday table read of I Love Lucy to a Friday audience filming. Along the way, the couple face “a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage,” according to Deadline. Tony Hale will play I Love Lucy’s executive producer and head writer Jess Oppenheimer, while Alia Shawkat and Jake Lacy will play the show’s longtime writing partners Madelyn Pugh and Bob Caroll Jr. J.K. Simmons (Whiplash, Spider-Man) and Nina Arianda (Billions, Midnight In Paris) will have the task of playing William Frawley and Vivian Vance – aka Fred and Ethel, the neighbors on I Love Lucy.
“I love Lucille, having looked now and delved into her,” Nicole said at the start of 2021, amid skepticism that she was the right person for 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.”