Ana de Armas has revealed that she suffered a crisis of confidence before playing screen icon Marilyn Monroe in the biopic Blonde.
The 34-year-old actress said she questioned how a “Cuban woman can play Marilyn Monroe.” and she admitted to her feat that her career would be over if she didn’t land the part-during a chat with Eddie Redmayne to Variety Actors on Actors Serie.
Calling the prospect of playing Monroe ‘terrifying’, he said: ‘At first, it felt like, ‘What is this Australian director like? [Andrew Dominick] Thinking that a Cuban can play Marilyn Monroe? He is crazy.
It wasn’t supposed to happen. It’s one of these roles that you think about, but that’s not going to be you. Not in the movies, at least. In the theater, sometimes you get to play roles that are very far from who you are.
‘Scary’: Ana de Armas has revealed she suffered a crisis of confidence before playing screen icon Marilyn Monroe in the biopic, Blonde
“So for me, landing this role was a very personal challenge. It was an opportunity for me to prove to myself what I could do, what my limitations were. And it was a big risk, because I knew, “Oh my God, if I don’t do it right, this will be over.”
‘I will raise cows and chickens in the fields. I’ll be doing something else. I will never work again.
“And then it’s such a beautiful thing because you realize they have so much more in common. And then you hear your people and your friends say these beautiful things: how proud they are, how they feel represented.
The James Bond star said he began to doubt his talent while preparing for the role, saying: “The other day, I found a notebook. I’m horrible at keeping a journal. But I took notes for a week and every day it said: “I do not know what I’m doing. What is this? I have no idea what this character is like.”
Candid: The 34-year-old actress said she wondered how a “Cuban woman can play Marilyn Monroe.” and she admitted to her feat that her career would be over if she didn’t get the role of her, during a conversation with Eddie Redmayne for Variety’s Actors On Actors series.
Long to live up to: Calling the prospect of playing Monroe ‘terrifying’, he said: ‘At first, it felt like, ‘What’s this Australian director like? [Andrew Dominick] Thinking that a Cuban can play Marilyn Monroe? He’s crazy’ (Monroe photographed R in 1953
Blonde is an adaptation of the 2000 novel of the same name by 84-year-old Joyce Carol Oates.
De Armas’ fears proved unfounded as it received a 14-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival earlier this year.
While critics have praised Ana’s performance, there has been disagreement over whether the uncompromising nearly three-hour film is an artistic tour de force or another cruel layer of exploitation perpetrated against the 20th-century icon.
Blonde also stars Adrien Brody as Arthur Miller, Bobby Cannavale, Julianne Nicholson, Caspar Philipson, and Michael Masini.
Speaking of the film’s merits, De Armas added: “It’s just not fair to be just that – she needed more dimension to who she was, even though it’s the hard part or the dark side.”
“So it’s important in the film to show that. Because even though it is a fictional book and movie, what happened was true. You don’t end up dead at 36 if everything was amazing and perfect.
Dedicated: She said, “And it was a huge risk, because I knew, ‘Oh my gosh, if I don’t get it right, this is over.’
When the streaming giant released the trailer on July 28, Twitter users criticized Ana’s accent as “awful” with some saying she “looks nothing like Marilyn Monroe.”
In response to the backlash, Ana, who only learned English in 2015, admitted that she “didn’t grow up knowing Marilyn or her movies.”
“I am proud to have Andrew’s confidence and the opportunity to achieve it. I feel like whether you’re a Cuban or an American actress, anyone should feel the pressure.’
“My job was not to imitate her,” defended Ana, who spent nine months working with dialect coach Jessica Drake.
“I was interested in her feelings, her journey, her insecurities and her voice, in the sense that she didn’t really have one.”
Representative for the Monroe estate, Marc Rosen, told Variety on August 1, “Ana was an excellent casting choice, capturing Marilyn’s glamour, humanity and vulnerability.”
The cast was also championed by two-time Oscar winner Brad Pitt, who is one of Blonde’s six credited producers.
‘She’s phenomenal at it. That’s a tough dress to fill,” the Plan B Entertainment co-founder told ET on Aug. 1.
‘It was 10 years in the making. It wasn’t until we found Ana that we were able to cross the finish line.
Tragic Star: Blonde is an adaptation of the 2000 novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates, 84