Lucille Ball’s daughter says Nicole Kidman did a ‘spectacular job’ playing her mother in Being the Ricardos

Lucille Ball’s daughter has offered up her verdict on Nicole Kidman’s portrayal of the legendary comedian.

The Australian actor will play the I Love Lucy star in Being the Ricardos, a drama written by Aaron Sorkin. She’ll star opposite Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz, Ball’s husband of 20 years.

News of Kidman’s casting prompted scepticism from fans, with many saying that Kidman just looked like herself in the first photos from the set.

However, speaking to Palm Springs Life, Ball and Arnaz’s daughter Lucie Arnaz said that she spent two days on set of the movie and that the acting she’d seen had been “extraordinarily classy and first rate”.

Focusing on Kidman, she said: “Nicole did a spectacular job. The two days that I watched, though, were both little flashbacks, so she was playing Lucy in the late 30s and mid-40s.

“She wasn’t Lucy of Lucy Ricardo fame yet, so it was a trifle different. And I know she meant it to be, so it could feel different. But boy, what she did was astounding. She’s got such poise and class.”

Arnaz continued: “There are no look-a-likes. I mean, nobody was cast because they look exactly like somebody. They were cast because they’re spectacular performers, actors, and they can capture the basic essence of what has been written in this script. And Aaron was adamant about that and thank God. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product.”

Being the Ricardos takes place during a week of filming an episode of I Love Lucy and will include flashbacks to Ball’s life before the show.

It does not currently have a release date.