Florence Nightingale was an English social reformist who pioneered modern nursing. Considered one of the most important figures of Victorian England, she was almost singularly responsible for professionalizing nursing as a proper career, having saved many lives during the Crimean war and beyond. She came to be known to soldiers as “the lady with the lamp,” which is how she’d appear when she made the evening rounds in makeshift hospitals. Later on in life, she would establish one of the first secular nursing schools in the United Kingdom. Nightingale remains to be an important figure to nurses, so much so that newly registered nurses are asked to take the Nightingale Pledge.
Because of Nightingale’s role in history, as well as her enduring influence on nursing, it’s only fitting that a modern biopic is made about her life and work. There have been a few biopics about her in the past. The first one was in 1915, five years after her death. It was followed by a 1935 film titled The White Angel, which depicted Nightingale’s role as a nurse during the war. Other biopics about Nightingale include Miss Nightingale in 1974, Florence Nightingale in 1985, and another one titled Florence Nightingale in 2008. There hasn’t been a major studio film depicting her life, however, with a big-budget production befitting of Florence Nightingale’s legacy. If movie execs are looking to create a modern biopic about the legendary health worker, here are a few casting suggestions for the role of Florence Nightingale.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman is no stranger to playing real-life figures, most notably Virginia Woolf in the movie The Hours, for which Kidman won an Academy Award for Best Actress, the first Australian to do so. She’s also portrayed the American novelist Martha Gellhorn in Hemingway and Gellhorn, actress Grace Kelly in Grace of Monaco, and journalist Gretchen Carlson in Bombshell. She will be portraying the legendary American comedian Lucille Ball in an upcoming biopic titled Being The Ricardos, a movie written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. Given that Kidman is a veteran of heavy biopics, she’d obviously do excellently portraying Florence Nightingale. Kidman is a fan of challenging roles anyway, so playing Nightingale in front of the camera should be a treat. In an interview with The Guardian, Kidman said: “I try never to be governed by fear; that’s how I choose things. If I ever feel that this is dangerous or I’m scared of it, then that probably draws me more towards it.” If that is Kidman’s attitude towards acting, then portraying Florence Nightingale during the most critical moments of her nursing career should be the perfect role.
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence is another actress who can masterfully play Florence Nightingale on screen. She’s played real-life people on screen before. In 2015, she played Joy Mangano, an American inventor who developed the self-squeezing Miracle Mop, in the blockbuster film Joy. For her role, Lawrence won a Golden Globe award for Best Actress and was also nominated for an Oscars. She played the role so well that even the real-life Joy Mangano had nothing but praises for her, in an interview with Refinery29. “I can’t even impress upon you enough how utterly shocked I was. I feel like she’s lived another life or lives before, because she’s so beyond her years in so many ways.” Jennifer Lawrence has also been tapped to play disgraced startup founder Elizabeth Holmes in an upcoming biopic titled Bad Blood. Given these credentials, Lawrence can confidently play Nightingale in a biopic. She’ll only have to practice her British accent for the role.
Emma Thompson
Fun fact: Emma Thompson did play Florence Nightingale in a comedy skit in the ’80s, but if given the chance to portray the nurse properly and seriously, Emma Thompson should take it. The Harry Potter and Love Actually actress plays biopic roles very well. Her portrayal of P.L Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, in the 2013 movie Saving Mr. Banks (opposite Tom Hanks, who played Walt Disney) was well-received by critics. AutoStraddle‘s Laura Mandanas wrote of Thompson’s performance: “The movie is charming and Emma Thompson, per usual, makes for an utterly endearing misanthrope. However, I have to question the decision to gloss over Travers’ queer identity.”
Olivia Colman
Yes, we know, not everyone has to be played by Olivia Colman, but we can’t ignore her because she’s just too good. Her masterful portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown won her plenty of awards, including an Emmy. Her excellent depiction of Anne, Queen of Britain won her an Academy Award for Best Actress. She has an upcoming miniseries where she plays a real-life murderer. In other words, she knows how to play real people. One thing’s for sure, Florence Nightingale’s legacy is in good hands if she’s played by Colman on screen. Olivia Colman’s professionalism and acting philosophy should make a Florence Nightingale biopic a masterpiece. In an interview with The Guardian, Colman said: “There’s some amazing actors who don’t get asked back because they don’t behave very nicely,” she said. “Learn your lines, try and know everyone’s name, be on time … There’s a million people who would have your job in a second and more … who are better than you. Take your job seriously and not yourself.”
Thomasin McKenzie
Thomasin Mackenzie might be too young to play Nightingale, but Nightingale was young when she got involved in healthcare. Also, the uncanny similarities alone between Florence Nightingale and Thomasin McKenzie’s features should put the young actress in the running. Thomasin McKenzie doesn’t have much in her repertoire, notably appearing in Jojo Rabbit, The King, and Last Night in SoHo. The 21-year-old has a bright acting career ahead of her, but playing the famed nurse on-screen might just be what solidifies her status in the industry.
Final Words
Here are some important guidelines for any director, producer, or movie exec planning to depict Florence Nightingale’s life on screen — this one from the famed nurse herself. “If I could give you information of my life it would be to show how a woman of very ordinary ability has been led by God in strange and unaccustomed paths to do in His service what He has done in her. And if I could tell you all, you would see how God has done all, and I nothing. I have worked hard, very hard, that is all; and I have never refused God anything.” That should give you a clue how Florence Nightingale would want to be portrayed.
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