Interview: Javier Bardem reflects on ‘Being the Ricardos,’ the film’s fast shoot and his own Communist roots

Descending from a long line of prominent film industry voices, acting flows through Javier Bardem’s blood. Once a determined street painter, the Spanish born Oscar-winner succumbed to a different bohemian career path, becoming the most famous of his actor siblings, Carlos and Mónica, and, eventually, his family. However, working in the film industry wasn’t always as easy of a choice in Spain. In fact, it wasn’t a choice, it was a necessity when his mother, actor Pilar Bardem, and uncle, director Juan Antonio Bardem, rose to prominence. Both Communists, his uncle was imprisoned for his anti-fascist films and his mother persecuted by dictator Francisco Franco.

In Being the Ricardos, Lucy and Desi Arnaz endure several controversies over the course of a week of filming I Love Lucy, one of which is the media persecution of Lucy, who is falsely outed as a Communist. Taking place during McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare, their careers, personal reputations, and personal freedoms are placed on the line. Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin in one of his finest works yet, Bardem honors his long line of familial acting history while mining his deep well of political persecution, creating a Desi Arnaz both uncanny and unique to his own.

Ahead of Being the Ricardos‘ release, I had a chance to speak with the Oscar winner about honoring Arnaz through painstaking research, Sorkin’s genius, bridging his political background to that of the film’s, Dune, and more.

Alex Arabian: What initially drew you to Aaron Sorkin’s script?

Javier Bardem: Well, before I even read the script, I was interested in the project itself because I heard about it years prior to the script being written. And then once I knew Aaron Sorkin was writing the script, it was even more exciting. So after they went to some other actors, and for whatever reason it didn’t happen, they came to me, and I was very honored, very scared, and very committed to make it happen and to earn not only those amazing words that are written by a master, Sorkin, but also to marry such an iconic person as Desi. So there was no reason to say no to this. It was a challenge for many reasons, but everything there was top-notch in front and behind the camera, and the material was so rich and so powerful. So I took it like a gift.

AA: It really showed.

JB: Thank you.

AA: You’ve played real people before – Pablo Escobar, Reinaldo Arenas. Preparation-wise, do you approach biopics and real people differently than you do fictional characters?

JB: Yeah, you have to. There is a different responsibility with it, especially if they are contemporary and there are some documents and sources that you can access so people have a better knowledge of who that person was, let alone if you’re playing an iconic character, whether it’s for the good reasons like Desi Arnaz, or the bad reasons, which is Pablo Escobar. So it’s a different approach. It’s about really getting as close as you can in terms of physicality and parallel behavior. That includes the voice, the walking, the movement. But overall, what is the thing that strikes you the most? What is that specific thing of that character, of that personality, what is it what you receive as a main personality trait that speaks volumes to you and that you feel that has to be portrayed? Because that will define who he was and what he meant as a person, as an individual, for everyone, for society and for himself.

So in that journey, it’s a narrower, more thorough investigation, because you have to give up many things that don’t do any favor to accomplish that goal, which is getting as close as you can to the essence to what we call the soul of that person. Of course, you will never get there. I mean, you are not that person. But to try to imagine and to feel what was behind those eyes or behind that character that he portrayed to others externally, what was behind that, that it was the driving force, the leading force that will keep that person moving forward. What was his goals? What was his dreams, his fears, his insecurities, his oppositions, his failures, his successes? Those are the most important things of any character, I would say, but especially when you’re playing someone that is real, that has been real.

AA: And you watched every episode of I Love Lucy in preparation. Did it take you every episode to find Desi’s soul?

JB: Yes, because as Lucy Ricardo’s a character, created by Lucille Ball, Ricky Ricardo’s a character created by Desi Arnaz. So those are fictional characters created by someone real. And Aaron pointed out that this is the story about those two real people going through real problems while they are portraying kind of the opposite of what it is on TV. So those shows were very important to understand the physicality of him, the body language, the way he will take the room. But he was acting.

So I would say the most important thing will be some interviewers when he was older, he was more relaxed, with the defenses down, and you will see a glimpse of what he was in reality. His autobiography, a book called, “A Book.” And also, the gift that was given to us by Lucy, the daughter – some private recordings where you can listen to, in this case, Desi Arnaz speaking to his colleagues, his employees, his executives, even family members. And then you understand, “Okay, this is him.” And funnily enough, the energy was very similar to the energy that he put in the show. He was very committed, super energized, charismatic, charming, funny, straightforward, a man that won’t get stuck in his own drama. He will fix things, he will resolve things. And if he can really make it with a smile and with everybody having a good time while fixing it, even better.

AA: You once said in an interview, from an early age, you realized that you will always fight with directors. What were the conversations like with Aaron Sorkin like surrounding your character and Nicole’s Lucille?

JB: Well, I would say that Aaron Sorkin is a genius on words, on writing stories, situations, dialogues. He is. I honestly think he is a genius of a screenwriter. Then he decided to direct this as he decided to direct Chicago 7 from what I know and from what I read as well because we didn’t talk openly while we’re shooting because we were very, very focused on shooting the movie. But he didn’t do it like, “Oh, I need to shoot this myself.” He’s like, “Okay, I’ll do it,” because whatever reason. He said, “I’ll jump on it and I’ll try to do my best.” And he did a fantastic job.

And he knows so well what a performer needs, that he knows when to leave them alone, when that person needs a guide, a guideline, when that person needs a push. But mostly, he already gave us the most amazing tools which is his words – the characters’ journeys through the text. He took a lot of working on directing of performance through his writing. And he was always there when we need him. And I would say he was there in the most important way, to trust us, to give us confidence, to believe in us, to not let us, either Nicole or I, let loose on our own confidence, on our own trust. Also helping us to understand that this movie is not about mimicking Lucy and Desi, Lucy and Ricky. It was something else. So he gave us that room, and it was a fantastic journey, a fast one. It was a fast movie to put together and shoot, but it was at every level a very, very satisfying professional and personal experience.

AA: The experience sounds incredible. Your uncle, Juan Antonio, was a talented filmmaker who was a Communist imprisoned by Franco for his anti-fascism politics and films. Did you use this personal history at all to help you with the storyline between you and Lucy in Being the Ricardos?

JB: Absolutely. And not only my uncle, but my mom was also persecuted, not as harsh or as directly as my uncle was, but Bardem as a surname in the times of the regime and even afterwards when the Constitution happened, it was a surname that was linked to persecution. Yeah, it was a targeting surname for the extreme right-wing, for fascism. And it’s still today, with the rising up of extreme right in Europe and all around the world, unfortunately having in Spain now, the very extreme right party in the Congress. It’s a surname that brings some flavor to the conversation, if you know what I mean. Which is fine, I’m so proud of it. I’m so proud of the people, including my mother, my uncle, my grandparents, my great grandparents who fought for the right causes.

And you don’t call it Communism or anything else, you just call it justice and the rights for those who are the weakest. Which is, for example, now as we’re speaking today, the extreme right-wing are trying to eliminate all the lesbian, gay, transsexual, bisexual rights that we have secured with so much fight through the years. They are supporting the opposition party, the right party, the extreme right really has created this link with the right party so the right party right them, and they are trying to eliminate every right possible for them. That is so dangerous. So, in a way, it’s like if we were speaking about the ’60s or the ’70s in Spain. Like, really? Are we going backward that much? So in that scenario, yeah, there has been some remanence of what it meant to be Bardem at the time, you know what I mean? Which is something that I could perfectly relate to – in the movie and Desi Arnaz – of being persecuted. For different reasons, but I know what it is, I’ve been there, I’ve seen it. And in a way, I’m in it.

AA: Wow. That’s really amazing history. You also starred in Dune, which is really a setup for Part Two to feature the Fremen people more centrally. I interviewed Denis Villeneuve, and he said Part Two is going to be totally different. So what was that experience like, working with Denis on such a well-known sci-fi story?

JB: I sat down with him in Los Angeles and he said, “I would like to offer you something.” And I said, “Whatever it is, I don’t know what it is, I say yes. I want so much to work with you.” And he said, “But hold up, hold up. It’s a very small role. If there is such a thing a second part, because I’m pretending to do this Dune story in three movies, you may have more presence in the movie.” I said, “I don’t care, I just want to work with you.” So for me it was so an honor. Again, it’s like 90% of the actors in the world are unemployed. The rest of the 10% work not as consecutively speaking as they should. Just the fact I’m working and having a job and being able to not only work but to work with such a great talent, it’s a gift.

So I do go to the set every day, (say) “Thank you” for being there and try to earn it through your hard work and your commitment. That’s something that Ilearned from my mom. And it’s true when you’re working in any way with anybody, but especially when you are working with people that you so much admire and respect. So for me it was a right. And also, what luck, what a blessing that the people that hire you, the directors, are such nice human beings. They are different. Everybody’s different, but they are good people, people that you want to be around, people that are going to be there to support you and to take care of you and to accompany you on your journey. So I loved it. And the fact that we’re going to go back to it, to the desert, it’s like, “Wow, man.” It’s like a dream come true. I can’t wait to be there and also to have some scenes with Josh, hopefully. I love Josh Brolin. I would love to work with him. I adore him.

AA: That’s so exciting. Is there anything you could tell us about Part Two?

JB: Not really. I’m telling the truth. It’s not because I don’t want to tell you, it’s because I don’t know. I knew about the second movie one hour before everybody knew. My agent texted me, “It’s coming. It’s happening.” I said, “What?” “Yeah, in an hour, they’re going to announce it.” “Really?” And then I saw the announcement. I know they’re working on the script. I don’t know if the script is finished or not. I don’t know. I don’t want to call anyone. They know I’m here. I read whenever they want me to read. But to tell you the truth, I can’t wait to read. I’m so excited. And I know they are planning to start shooting next summer, from what I’ve heard and what I’ve read. So I don’t know much more than you, honestly.

AA: Are there any other projects that have you excited?

JB: The Good Boss is the Spanish movie that has been selected to represent Spain for the Oscars. We have recently received the record-breaking 20 nominations for the Goya awards, which is like the Spanish Oscars. It is in the race of the International Feature Film. And we have been doing screenings in the States, and people loved it. It’s a dark comedy about the abuse of power in the working place, and it’s getting great reviews and it’s a great movie, a movie I’m very proud of. By Fernando León de Aranoa, it’s called The Good Boss.

AA: Congratulations. I gotta see that.

JB: You’re going to love it. You’re going to laugh. I’ll tell you, you’re going to laugh. You’re going to have a good laugh.

Being the Ricardos will release globally on Amazon Prime Video on December 21, 2021.

Photo: Glen Wilson/Amazon