In a new profile of Ana de Armas (Knives Out, Blade Runner 2049) about her journey to playing Marilyn Monroe in Netflix’s recently-released NC-17 film Blonde, Variety writes about the uphill challenges the actor faced to convince the streaming service she could play the iconic and troubled model-actor. The film has started to hit theaters stateside, and comes to Netflix on September 28.
de Armas tells Variety about the grueling time she had working on the film, whose production started in August 2019 and stretched all the way out to July 2021 due to the pandemic. But before that, she remembers the pressure and preparation that went into the in-person screen test with Netflix. The scene, in which Monroe pleads with husband Joe DiMaggio to let her move to New York so she can start over and live away from Hollywood–called for de Armas to summon all of Monroe’s passions and desperations all at once.
“It was just getting worse and worse and worse–it was a constant reminder that I wasn’t good enough,” de Armas said. “It doesn’t matter what I say or how I say it, it is still not good enough. And I’m not going to be accepted for this.”
However, despite how she felt about her performance, Blonde obviously got the greenlight. The film, de Armas recently told Empire, is “supposed to create controversy and discomfort.”
de Armas also spoke at length to Variety about the obstacles of beginning her career as a Cuban and Spanish actor, and in addition to capturing Monroe’s essence, she had to work extensively with an accent coach. “There were moments where I thought maybe this movie would never come out,” said de Armas. “Someone’s voice has many qualities. It’s not just an accent or the pitch or the breathiness. You can imitate someone very well and have no soul. As much as I wanted to get it as close as possible to her voice, if that voice didn’t have a feeling, that meant nothing to me.”
In addition to Blonde, de Armas will play the lead role in the John Wick spinoff, Ballerina. She also recently discussed the future of the James Bond series, saying Bond should not be played by a woman.
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