- Ana de Armas said playing Marilyn Monroe in "Blonde" as a Cuban actress was a "big risk" for her.
- In an interview for Variety with Eddie Redmayne, the actress said the part was a "personal challenge."
Ana de Armas said she knew playing Marilyn Monroe in "Blonde" would be a "big risk" for her as a Cuban actress.
The actress spoke with Eddie Redmayne about the film for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series. In the interview published Friday, de Armas said she never thought she'd get the chance to play Monroe.
"At the beginning, it felt like, 'How is this Australian director [Andrew Dominik] thinking that a Cuban woman can play Marilyn Monroe? He's insane, and I'm very happy about it.' It is one of these roles that you think about, and you see other people playing, but that's not going to be you."
De Armas noted that the role was a "very personal challenge" for her because it was an opportunity to prove herself and expand her range as an actress. Still, she told Redmayne she knew she had to nail her take on the Hollywood icon.
"And it was a big risk, because I knew, 'Oh, my gosh, if I don't get this one right, this is over.' I'll be raising cows and chickens in the countryside. I'll be doing something else. I will never work again," she said.
The actress said that it was a "beautiful thing" when she discovered she had more in common with Monroe than she initially thought. She added that her loved ones reached out to tell her they felt represented through her performance.
De Armas previously opened up about her preparations for the part in the 2022 Netflix film. In an interview with The Sunday Times in January 2021, she said it took her nine months of dialect coaching and practice to get Monroe's voice right, calling the process "a big torture."
In September, de Armas told AnOther Magazine that she asked Monroe for permission to play her when visiting her gravesite with a card signed by cast and crew members.
"Everyone felt a huge responsibility, and we were very aware of the side of the story we were going to tell – the story of Norma Jeane, the person behind this character, Marilyn Monroe. Who was she really?"