Nicole Kidman Almost Quit 'Being The Ricardos' After Accepting The Role Of Lucille Ball

Nicole Kidman recently opened up about why she almost quit the movie, "Being the Ricardos" after accepting the role of Lucille Ball. The 54-year-old talked about it with Screen Actors Guild Awards voters after the special premiere held in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday, and noted that she wrote an email to director Aaron Sorkin in order to leave the role.

"I actually sent Aaron an e-mail saying, 'I think I’m actually the wrong person now. I know I said 'yes,' but I’m now saying 'no,'" Kidman recalled. "To which he said, 'You don’t get to say 'no' now!' I’m really glad that he pushed me."

When Kidman's casting for the role was announced, it received backlash by netizens as the actress is not popularly known for her comic timing, and instead, she has portrayed some serious characters in movies like "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" and "Far and Away."

However, the actress reflected on her preparation for Ball's character and said, "I started with the grape stomping," referencing the episode, titled "Lucy's Italian Movie" from season 5. "And that was my way into her, and I loved doing it. I loved doing the clown work and all of that," she added.

The 54-year-old actress also noted that she worked with a "movement coach" to get into the character.

"I worked with actually a movement coach as well, because the physicality of her," she explained. "[I’m a] 5-foot-11 kind of gawky woman who’s not used to, you know, she was a beautiful dancer and had such a command of her body. So I had to really work on that."

When it comes to the vocals, she noted how worked on Ball’s unique voice and tested with her husband, musician Keith Urban.

"Vocally, I started with the Lucy voice, and it was so far out of reach that it was terrifying," she said. "I was, like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ And I’d do it for my husband, who has a great ear, cause he’s a musician, and he’d be, like, ‘Hmmmm.’ Kinda scary."

This is not the first time when Kidman spoke about being anxious of portraying Ball.

She recently appeared on the "Live with Kelly and Ryan" show Tuesday and explained how scared she felt to portray this role.

"Being the Ricardos," which is based on Lucille Ball's life, is slated to release on Dec. 10 in theaters and it will stream on Amazon Prime Video from Dec. 21 onwards.