In Aaron Sorkin‘s Hollywood Reporter interview about Being The Ricardos, he says he told Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem that he was “not looking for a physical or vocal impersonation” of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Okay, fine — Sorkin’s creation, the director says what goes.

But try to imagine Sorkin directing a drama about the Kennedy White House, and he’s cast, say, Ben Affleck as JFK and Ben starts working on his JFK accent and Sorkin says “Naahh, that’s okay, Ben…you don’t have to do that…just use your own natural voice.”

Or if Sorkin was directing a movie about Abraham Lincoln‘s final days and he cast Ben Stiller as Lincoln, and as Ben was working on his down-home, high-pitched Illinois accent Sorkin said, “Naaahh, that’s okay, Ben…just use your own voice…just talk like you did as the night watchman in the Night at the Museum movies.”