The actor who became Laura Dern’s biggest inspiration: “She was my daily ritual”
The range of Laura Dern’s career is almost hard to fathom, starting as a child and emerging as one of the most captivating performers of her generation. There’s a quality of genuine compassion and depth to each of her roles, whether it be her explosive portrayal of Renata Klein in Big Little Lies, carefully imbued with a hesitant sadness that adds nuance to such a fiery character, her portrayal of Sandy in Blue Velvet or the effervescent kindness of Marmee in Little Women.
Whether it be commercial blockbusters like Jurassic Park and Star Wars: The Last Jedi or handcrafted indie films like Wild or The Master, there is no limit to Dern’s talents, with an astounding versatility that has led to a truly unparalleled career. But while she is an inspiration to many, Dern cited the one performer who continues to be a leading light in her own career, becoming lost for words when trying to articulate her influence.
Many actors have been tasked with the enormous challenge of playing real-life figures, whether it be Timothee Chalamet and his portrayal of Bob Dylan or Angelina Jolie and her transformation into Maria Callas. However, despite being less known within her filmography, Nicole Kidman was given the honour of bringing Lucille Ball to life in Being the Ricardos, despite her initial wariness at doing so.
Ball is a treasured public figure and emblem of a new era, with the actor and producer making history as one of the few women of her time to rise to the top of Hollywood and create an empire for herself through shows like I Love Lucy, My Favourite Husband and The Lucy Show.
Her impact has not been lost on Dern, who expressed an outpouring of affection for the actor and struggled to adequately describe her respect for her, saying, “I want to share something, but I want to share it in the most respectful way possible because I worship this person. As a child, my biggest influence on a daily basis was Lucille Ball. I had Barbara Stanwyck and Katharine Hepburn on my wall, but Lucy was my everything. She was my daily ritual. And my grandmother didn’t understand why I’d get so emotional when I Love Lucy reruns weren’t on and they’d play The Lucy Show instead. So finally she asked me why, because she knew I loved her so much. And I was like, ‘She seems sad now.’”
The life of Lucille Ball was heavily documented as a woman in the public eye, with her career and personal life being met with increased scrutiny after a life in the spotlight. Maintaining a career in Hollywood is not for the faint-hearted, with the industry taking its toll on many who stay in it for a sustained period of time, perhaps leading to the sadness that Dern described.
There were very few women allowed into positions of power during the time of Ball’s career, and her legacy as a studio executive and powerhouse producer paved the way for many others, something that continues to be an inspiration for many.
