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Javier Bardem is not having it! The actor is defending his role as Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos . In a recent cover story for The Hollywood Reporter, the 52-year-old actor and his costar Nicole Kidman opened up about people’s reaction after they were cast to portray iconic I Love Lucy’s Arnaz and Lucille Ball.
The Oscar winner told the publication that playing the Cuban-American star or other characters is the whole point of his job. “I’m an actor, and that’s what I do for a living: try to be people that I’m not. What do we do with Marlon Brando playing Vito Corleone [in The Godfather]? What do we do with Margaret Thatcher, played by Meryl Streep [in The Iron Lady]? Daniel Day-Lewis playing Lincoln [in Lincoln]?” he asked. “Why does this conversation happen with people with accents? ‘You have your accent. That’s where you belong.’ That’s tricky.”
Bardem said that some people react to specific roles based on languages. “Where is that conversation with English-speaking people doing things like The Last Duel, where they were supposed to be French people in the Middle Ages? That‘s fine,” he continued, “but me, with my Spanish accent, being Cuban? What I mean is, if we want to open the can of worms, let’s open it for everyone,” he suggested. “We should all start not allowing anybody to play Hamlet unless they were born in Denmark.”
After securing the role, Bardem only had one thing in mind, and he knew “for sure” that he was “going to give everything that I have.”
After the interview, the publication revealed that he sent an email through his rep acknowledging unrepresented voices. “I do recognize that there are many underrepresented voices and stories that need to be told, and we should collectively do better to provide access and opportunities for more American Latino stories and storytellers,” he said.
But Javier isn’t the only one getting fire; 54-year-old actress Nicole Kidman also faced criticisms for her casting. The project was first announced in September 2015, with Cate Blanchett announced to star as Lucille Ball. Years later, Kidman was confirmed to play the role.
“I went, ‘What have I said yes to?’ — to which I then went, ‘Oh no, I’m not right. Everyone thinks I‘m not right, so I’m going to try to sidestep this,‘ ” she said on Live with Kelly and Ryan. “And the producer Todd Black and [writer/director] Aaron Sorkin were both like, ’Absolutely not.‘ I was in Australia, and they were like, ’No.‘ And thank God, because then I was so grateful because I got to fall in love with her.”
Starring Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Jake Lacy, J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale, and Alia Shawkat, Being the Ricardos reveals the couple’s complex romantic and professional relationship.
Amazon Studio’s Being the Ricardos opened in theaters on December 10 and will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on December 21.